-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
Russian diplomats in Paris have had their bank cards blocked from making fuel purchases, Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Meshkov told the state news agency, The Moscow Times reported on May 1.
Meshkov stated that a Belgian bank initially triggered the block, and subsequent attempts to pay for gas through a French bank were also rejected. “This is a precedent literally from this week, because before this, even since 2022, there had never been any problems from this point of view,” the ambassador noted.
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The diplomat called the frozen cards a “substantial blow,” citing the high fuel prices in Europe. He also complained that the embassy’s issues with its bank accounts have become “practically permanent.” This financial squeeze follows a February 2025 decision by France to block the accounts of the Russian House in Paris, though the French Finance Ministry later allowed basic “life-supporting” payments to be processed directly through a bank employee, according to The Moscow Times.
The fuel payment blockade is part of a crackdown on Moscow’s diplomatic missions. On January 25, 2026, under the EU’s 19th sanctions package, France banned the free movement of Russian diplomats and their families. Embassy staff and their relatives are now required to notify the French Foreign Ministry at least 24 hours before any travel that involves crossing the border.
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Beyond financial and travel restrictions, Moscow is facing total social isolation in Europe. On April 21, Meshkov confirmed that Paris has once again refused to invite Russian representatives to its May 8 Victory Day celebrations marking the defeat of Nazism—a practice France halted after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, The Moscow Times wrote.
Furthermore, following a December 2025 directive from the European External Action Service advising diplomats to avoid their Russian counterparts, Russian state media reported that European officials now refuse to shake hands with Russian staff and have even asked them to leave diplomatic events.
France’s diplomatic freeze on Russian officials coincides with its role in international legal accountability efforts against Moscow. Paris had recently officialy confirmed its intent to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement regarding the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal to prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression in Ukraine.
Austria, Poland, and Iceland had also committed to the initiative, bringing the total number of participating nations to 20. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that the Special Tribunal’s steering committee agreement will be presented for approval at the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers meeting in Chisinau on May 14-15.
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