The European Union has added Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev and International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Arkady Dvorkovich to its sanctions list as part of the bloc’s 21st package against Moscow.Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi announced the decision on Thursday, July 23 in a Facebook post, calling it an important victory for Ukraine in international sports diplomacy.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Both of them consistently use their positions to spread the narratives of the aggressor state and legitimize Russia in world sport,” Bidnyi wrote, adding that their “inclusion on the EU sanctions list confirms: Kremlin officials and their lobbyists have no place in the civilized sports community.”He continued: “We keep working so that every Russian sports official who supports the aggression ends up under full international sanctions, and Russian athletes are not admitted to competitions in civilized countries.”Zelensky: “Thank you, EU!”President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the bloc and its European leaders for adopting the package, saying that pressure on Russia for the war “it started and refuses to stop” must continue.The package contains direct steps aimed at slowing Russia’s war machine, including restrictions on energy supplies, financial services and crypto; trade measures (imports of metal, equipment, and for the first time ever – imports of fish and fish products, including a complete ban on cod), and a ban on former Russian combatants from entering the EU.