The export of agri-food products from the European Union (EU) to Russia has been negatively influenced by the Russian embargo. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of the Russian agri-food embargo on EU agri-food exports to Russia from 2010 to 2016 and to consider the possibility of avoiding the embargo using Belarus as a re-exporting country. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index was used to assess the impact of Russian sanctions on agricultural exports from the EU to Russia.  The main consequence of the embargo was a significant decline in EU agri-food exports to Russia. European producers responded by trying to increase the territorial diversification of their customers. In the beginning, they tried to keep the Russian market through re-export operations, which is evident in the example of Belarus. Calculation of RCI points to the fact that mutual agri-food trade has changed significantly. Prior to the embargo, agri-food exports from the EU to Russia were  competitive, but these advantages have been lost. In 2010, Russia was the second most important agri-food market for the EU. However, as a consequence of the embargo, it dropped to fifth place in 2016. The paper also assesses the future development of agri-food trade between the EU and Russia based on a linear model.