Moscow, September 18, 2026 – The Europe Today: Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended until the end of 2028 a ban on imports of certain food products from Western countries, a measure introduced more than a decade ago in response to sanctions imposed on Russia.
The extension was formalised in a decree published on the Kremlin’s website on Thursday.
Russia introduced the restrictions in August 2014 following sanctions imposed by several Western countries in connection with the Ukraine crisis and Crimea. The measures target imports from the United States, European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The restrictions cover a range of agricultural and food products, including meat, seafood, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. Several of the countries affected are designated as “unfriendly” by the Russian government.
Russian authorities have maintained that the food embargo has supported the expansion of domestic agricultural production and encouraged the entry of brands from countries outside the Western sanctions regime, including Serbia.
The latest extension comes amid challenging weather conditions affecting agricultural producers in both North America and Europe.
In the United States, drought conditions remain widespread across the contiguous states following what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described as the country’s hottest meteorological summer on record.
Western Europe has also experienced record temperatures. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that the region recorded its hottest summer on record, while successive heatwaves and drought conditions have affected agricultural production.
According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, forecasts for yields of several key summer crops in the European Union have declined, with some estimates as much as 14 percent below their five-year averages.
Meanwhile, the potato harvest in Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands is expected to incur losses estimated between €498 million and €818 million (approximately $572 million to $940 million) because of extreme weather conditions, according to the UK-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
