Shea Levin — text status

EU countries failed Monday to reach an agreement on extending a major sanctions regime against Russia covering asset freezes on roughly 3,000 individuals and companies, POLITICO reports. The measures are due to expire Tuesday unless all 27 EU countries unanimously agree to extend them. Slovakia is demanding that Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman be removed from the sanctions list, while France has proposed delisting only Usmanov, citing a “specific national security issue.” Most EU countries oppose removing anyone from the list as Russian attacks on Ukraine continue.