It’s time to turn off the tap: new EU sanctions to target Russian energy exports

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today presented the EU’s 19^th package of sanctions against Russia, further targeting the Russian oil trade and cracking down on financial loopholes.

In a statement, President von der Leyen said Russia “has shown the full extent of its contempt for diplomacy and international law” over the last month, as she criticised the largest-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, including Russian strikes that hit the EU office in Kyiv, and Russian drone incursions into Poland and Romania. “These are not the actions of someone who wants peace,” she said.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said on X the EU’s message to Russia was clear: 

“We want to strike where Russia gets its money. No sector is off-limits.”

Setting out the proposals, Von der Leyen said the EU wanted to cut Russia’s revenues from fossil fuels, which were sustaining its war effort. “So we are banning imports of Russian LNG into European markets. It is time to turn off the tap.”

In a separate statement, Kaja Kallas specified that the EU would propose a “full prohibition of Russian LNG imports by January 2027”.

Von der Leyen said the EU was sanctioning an extra 118 vessels from the shadow fleet, bringing the total to more than 560 vessels. “Major energy trading companies Rosneft and Gazpromneft will now be on a full transaction ban. And other companies will also come under asset freeze. We are now going after those who fuel Russia’s war by purchasing oil in breach of the sanctions. We target refineries, oil traders, petrochemical companies in third countries, including China.”

“In three years, Russia’s oil revenues in Europe have gone down by 90%. We are now turning that page for good,” she said.

The package will also look at closing “the financial loopholes” that Russia uses to evade sanctions, the President of the Commission said, adding the EU would bring forward “a transaction ban on additional banks in Russia and on banks in third countries”.

“We are stepping up our crackdown on circumvention. As evasion tactics grow more sophisticated, our sanctions will adapt to stay ahead. Therefore, for the first time, our restrictive measures will hit crypto platforms, and prohibit transactions in crypto currencies. We are listing foreign banks connected to Russian alternative payment service systems. And we are restricting transactions with entities in special economic zones.”

The package will also “add new direct export restrictions for items and technologies used on the battlefield”, with an additional 45 companies in Russia and third countries to be listed.

“These companies have been providing direct or indirect support to the Russian military industrial complex. In a war driven by innovation, cutting off Russia’s access to key technologies is crucial. Above all when it comes to drones,” she said.

Von der Leyen also said that while Russian frozen assets “will not be touched,” Ukraine would get reparations loans, to be repaid by future Russian reparations. “We will come forward with a proposal soon,” she added.

In her statement, Kaja Kallas stressed that, “Our sanctions bite. They have a visible impact on Russia’s public finances and economic growth.” 

The High Representative said the new sanctions would “squeeze Russia’s access to technologies including AI and geospatial data, as well as critical resources that feed weapons production. This includes those received from foreign suppliers including China and India,” adding on X: “Our message is clear: if you enable Russia’s war and try to dodge our sanctions, you will face the consequences.”

She also said the package would measures against “individuals involved in the abduction and indoctrination of Ukrainian children”.

Stressing the EU would use all the tools at its disposal to end the war, Von der Leyen condluded: “I now call on the Member States to quickly endorse these new sanctions. We want Russia to leave the battlefield and come to the negotiating table. This is the way to give peace a real chance.”

Find out more

Von der Leyen statement

Kallas statement