EU Tightens Sanctions in Strong Response to Russian Invasion of Ukraine

European Union ambassadors have agreed on a substantial new series of sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The measures target Russian liquid natural gas imports, key technologies, and over 100 officials, with further restrictions on Russian Central Bank assets.

European Union ambassadors have reached an agreement on a “powerful and substantial” new series of sanctions to continue addressing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as per the Belgian presidency of the bloc on Thursday.

The presidency posted on the social media platform X that “This package provides new targeted measures and maximizes the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes.” Full details are likely to be released next week if EU foreign ministers endorse the measures as expected on Monday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose team drafted the sanctions, noted that the package will “deny Russia access to key technologies, strip Russia of further energy revenues, and tackle Putin's shadow fleet and shadow banking network abroad.”

The new sanctions notably target the import of Russian liquid natural gas, with the EU estimating that about 4 billion-6 billion cubic metres (141 billion-212 billion cubic feet) of Russian LNG were shipped to third countries via EU ports last year.

More than 100 new officials and “entities” will face asset freezes and travel bans. In addition to President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, over 1,700 individuals have already been listed, including scores of lawmakers and several oligarchs.

Around 400 entities currently face sanctions, including companies in military, aviation, shipbuilding, and manufacturing sectors, the Wagner mercenary group, political parties, and banks. Roughly 210 billion euros (USD 225 billion) worth of Russian Central Bank assets are blocked in the EU.