The authors of the article examined the current international legislation in the field of environmental protection of the Arctic, paying special attention to the «unilateral restrictive measures» against Russia, which were adopted by the United States and the European Union (hereinafter – the EU) on April 29, 2014, as «sanctions». The purpose of the study is to determine the place of «unilateral restrictive measures» in the hierarchy of international Arctic legislation and how they affect Russia's activities in fulfilling the tasks outlined in the «Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the period up to 2035»[1] and the «Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and the Protection of National Security in the Arctic the period until 2035» [2]. An analysis of the current legislation led to the conclusion that the norms of international law are still in demand by the participating states as an objective basis for the formation of a legal regime within the framework of the implementation of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. But unlike them, the authors are sure, the unilateral restrictive measures of the United States and the EU towards Russia are deliberate political prescriptions that have no points of contact with the norms of international substantive and procedural law. The authors of the article justified the illegality of unilateral restrictive measures taken by the United States and the EU, which act contrary to the principles of international substantive and procedural law, hindering the process of further development of cooperation between the participating states in the Arctic. For this reason, the authors consider it advisable to exclude these «sanctions» from the current international legal framework. This will restore Russia's Arctic status and make it possible for the Arctic Council to work most effectively in the field of environmental protection in the northern region.