Arkady Volozh’s decision to publicly condemn the war ‘poses a tricky question’ for the EU, according to western officials © Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Reported by Henry Foy in Brussels and Max Seddon in Riga

Arkady Volozh, co-founder of Russian tech giant Yandex, has formally requested that the EU lift sanctions against him in the first big test of whether the bloc will reward prominent figures who publicly break with the Kremlin.

Lawyers for Volozh petitioned the EU to repeal the measures days after Volozh condemned Vladimir Putin’s ‘barbaric’ invasion of Ukraine,according to people familiar with the move. The request will be discussed by EU officials next month.

Volozh’s request comes after he became only the second prominent Russian billionaire to unreservedly denounce the war in Ukraine earlier this month, prompting calls from diplomats, officials and other sanctioned individuals for the EU to respond.

The case has raised the issue of whether policymakers should include “off-ramps” for sanctioned Russian elite figures who speak out against the invasion. 

Volozh’s decision to publicly condemn the war “poses a tricky question” for the EU given its aim to use sanctions as a tool to encourage targeted individuals to change approach and weaken the Kremlin, two western officials told the FT.

“Frankly, it is hard to imagine what else he could do,” said a person close to Volozh. “And there are hundreds of other sanctioned Russian businessmen watching closely to see what Brussels does.”

Volozh, 59, has lived in Israel since 2014 and has not returned to Russia since Putin ordered the invasion in February last year.

Read full report: