The European Union has renewed sanctions against former Swiss army colonel and intelligence analyst Jacques Baud, accusing him of spreading pro-Russian narratives through appearances on Russian television programmes, including those broadcast by state-backed outlet Russia Today (RT).
The renewal was adopted by the Council of the European Union on October 8, extending the restrictive measures against Baud until October 9, 2027. The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban across the EU.
Born in Geneva, Baud is a retired general staff colonel. He served in the Swiss intelligence services from 1983 to 1990, analysing Warsaw Pact military forces during the Cold War. He later worked for the United Nations, including in Sudan, before becoming a commentator on international security and the war in Ukraine.
Brussels first sanctioned him on December 15, 2025, under its framework targeting Russian hybrid threats, in a package that listed eleven other people alongside him. The Council accused Baud of regularly appearing on pro-Russian television and radio programmes, particularly RT, and of acting as a mouthpiece for Kremlin propaganda.
It also alleged that he promoted conspiracy theories about the war, including claims that Ukraine had deliberately provoked Russia’s invasion to secure NATO membership.
Baud has rejected the accusations, saying he has never received money from Russia and that his analyses draw on Ukrainian and American sources. He has said his comments on the invasion referred to a 2019 interview given by Oleksiy Arestovych, later an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office.
In March 2026, Baud challenged his listing before the General Court of the European Union, seeking to have the sanctions annulled.
The measures have kept him in Belgium since December. Belgian authorities granted him a humanitarian exemption allowing limited access to his bank account from mid-March until late June, though he has said his funds were blocked again from the start of July, and a fresh waiver was issued in early October.
Switzerland has declined to adopt the EU measures against Baud. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) found that the bloc’s regime on hybrid threats and disinformation raised legal and political questions over freedom of expression. The European Commission has rejected the argument that the listings restrict free speech.
The EU established its sanctions regime on October 8, 2024, to counter Russian hybrid activities, including disinformation, cyberattacks, sabotage and interference in democratic processes. The framework covers 80 individuals and 20 entities.
On October 8, the Council amended the listings of eight individuals, including Baud, rather than imposing eight new sanctions. They include Andrey Averyanov, a Russian military intelligence general linked by the EU to operations in Africa; Alina Lipp, a German journalist accused of spreading pro-Russian disinformation; and Hüseyin Doğru, founder of the media outlet AFA Medya, accused of links to Russian propaganda networks.
The other amended entries were those of Vladimir Sergiyenko, Iurie and Ivan Neculiti, and Andrei Kharkovsky. Doğru, a Berlin-based journalist, was listed in May 2025 over the English-language platform red., which he ran through AFA Medya.
The Council also removed Olga Belyavtseva from the list. It designated her the same day under the separate EU regime on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, so the asset freeze against her stays in place.
The measures include asset freezes and travel bans, and prohibit EU citizens and companies from making funds available to listed individuals. The changes were set out in Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2257.
In Baud’s case, the Council also revised the wording describing the grounds for his listing, replacing a reference to actions threatening Ukraine’s stability or security with wording concerning actions undermining democracy and threatening the stability or security of a third country. The specific allegations against him remain unchanged, and the Council gave no reason for the change.
