On September 24, 2026 the Council of the European Union adopted Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2165, published the same day as Official Journal L 2026/2165 (document ST/12830/2026/INIT). The act implements Regulation (EU) 2024/2642 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's destabilising activities. It writes a new natural-person listing onto that directly applicable freeze list.
The Council's 24 September 2026 press release names the addition as Xenia Fedorova, former President and Director of Information of RT France, and states that those listed that day are already subject to an asset freeze. EU persons and companies are forbidden from making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to them. Screening files must be reloaded now. The paired Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/2164 amends Decision (CFSP) 2024/2643 in parallel.
Who was added, and what measures apply from September 24, 2026?
Xenia Fedorova is the designation the Council communicated with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2165. The listing sits on the Russia destabilising-activities regime set up on October 8, 2024, not on the sectoral Ukraine-war packages (Regulation (EU) 833/2014 and Regulation (EU) 269/2014).
The Council cites her role in Russia's hybrid activities, in particular foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). In her RT France posts she implemented that outlet's editorial line, including pro-Russian narratives on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. After the Union suspended RT broadcasting, she continued to put those narratives into French outlets including CNews, Europe 1 and Le JDNews, covering European support for Ukraine, NATO, and Russia-Union relations.
The Council records that the regime now covers 81 individuals and 20 entities. The economic measures that bite today are the freeze of funds and economic resources of the listed person, and the prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to that person, directly or indirectly. Those duties bind every natural and legal person in the Union because the vehicle is a Council regulation under Article 215 TFEU, not a directive that waits for transposition.
Who must update screening files, and by when?
Every EU credit institution, payment firm, insurer, asset manager, exporter, trader, logistics operator and other person that holds or moves funds or economic resources must treat the new listing as live from September 24, 2026, the Official Journal publication day.
French media, advertising, events and talent-payment rails sit in the first ring: Fedorova's post-suspension activity sat on CNews, Europe 1 and Le JDNews. Any appearance fee, consultancy invoice, distribution contract or advertising buy that would put funds or economic resources in her hands is now prohibited. Banks that still screen only the 833/2014 and 269/2014 families will miss this annex unless they have loaded the 2024/2642 list as a separate regime.
| Actor | Immediate duty from September 24, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Banks, payment firms, insurers, asset managers | Reload the 2024/2642 annex, freeze matches, block new funds, report to the national competent authority |
| Exporters, traders, logistics | Recheck counterparties, beneficial owners and payment beneficiaries against the new listing |
| Media, advertising, events (France first) | Stop any fee, appearance or distribution payment that would benefit the listed person |
| National competent authorities (FR Tresor, DE Bundesbank / BAFA, IT MEF / UIF) | Enforce the EU list; they do not recreate it in a national gazette |
How does Implementing Regulation 2026/2165 relate to Decision 2026/2164?
They are the paired instruments of one listing, not two events. Decision (CFSP) 2026/2164 is the Common Foreign and Security Policy act that amends Decision (CFSP) 2024/2643 (the CFSP listing and travel-ban layer). Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2165 is the Article 215 TFEU act that writes the same listing into Regulation (EU) 2024/2642 so the freeze is directly applicable in all Member States.
| Instrument | Base act | What it does on September 24, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2165 | Regulation (EU) 2024/2642 | Adds the listing to the directly applicable freeze list |
| Decision (CFSP) 2026/2164 | Decision (CFSP) 2024/2643 | Amends the CFSP listing and travel-ban layer in parallel |
Compliance teams should not wait for national gazettes. Member State authorities enforce the EU list. A continuous, per-jurisdiction real-time monitoring setup surfaces each Official Journal listing the moment it publishes, so the freeze file is not one news cycle late.
What should the sanctions desk do on the next working day?
Reload the EU consolidated list and the 2024/2642 annex, screen customers, counterparties, beneficial owners and payment beneficiaries against the Official Journal identifying data, freeze matches, block new funds, and file the national report.
- Open Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2165 and confirm the annex identifiers and identifying data against your vendor file.
- Run a look-back on open accounts, pending payments and trade documents with a France-media or RT-alumni nexus.
- Brief relationship managers that "RT is already banned" is not a complete control: this listing captures post-ban media activity.
- Confirm the 2024/2642 regime is loaded as a separate list from Regulation (EU) 833/2014 and Regulation (EU) 269/2014.
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Verify the annex identifiers in the Official Journal text, confirm no matching funds sit on your books, and brief the financial-crime and media-payments owners. Obsidian keeps the Russia destabilising-activities lineage current as each implementing act lands, so the next action is a list update, not a search.
