The European Union is moving to tighten pressure on Russia through a new package of sanctions targeting oil exports, cryptocurrency channels and individuals who fought in Ukraine, while Moscow has condemned an EU decision to expand naval inspections of vessels suspected of transporting Russian oil.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a proposed 21st round of sanctions against Russia, including a visa ban on anyone who has served in the Russian armed forces since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“We propose for the first time to ban entry into the European Union for anyone who has served in the Russian armed forces since the beginning of the war,” von der Leyen said, adding that the measure is intended to ensure that “Europe stays off-limits for anyone who has participated in the invasion of Ukraine.”
Brussels proposes visa ban for Russian soldiers, tighter oil restrictions and new action against sanctions evasion as Moscow denounces expanded EU maritime inspections
The proposed sanctions package would also maintain the current price cap on Russian crude oil at around $44 per barrel until January, a move Brussels says is designed to prevent Moscow from benefiting from higher energy prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East.
“This will give oil markets time to stabilise, while preserving pressure on Russia’s revenues,” von der Leyen said.
The package further targets cryptocurrency exchanges, banks and oil traders accused of helping Russia circumvent existing restrictions. Brussels also plans to blacklist 30 additional tankers linked to what it describes as Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to transport oil exports.
Other proposed measures include restrictions on imports of certain Russian fish products, including Alaska Pollock and cod, and additional curbs on companies in third countries supplying goods to Russia’s military sector. EU officials said 14 more firms from mainland China and Hong Kong could be added to the sanctions list.
The proposals require unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states before they can take effect.
The sanctions announcement comes days after the EU expanded the mandate of Operation IRINI, its naval mission in the Mediterranean originally established to enforce the United Nations arms embargo on Libya. Under the revised mandate, EU military vessels can stop and inspect foreign ships suspected of involvement in transporting Russian oil.
Russia strongly criticised the move on Wednesday.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the inspections posed a threat to maritime security and accused the EU of intimidating civilian shipping. She rejected the EU’s use of the term “shadow fleet,” describing it as a political construct with no basis in international law.
“The European Union’s deployment of ships from the IRINI naval operation deployed in the Mediterranean to inspect or seize, as they now say, vessels carrying oil products would constitute a flagrant violation of international law,” Zakharova told reporters.
She warned that Moscow would take all necessary measures to protect shipping interests.
“We reserve the right to use the full arsenal of political, legal, and other instruments at our disposal to protect maritime security and the legitimate interests of shippers and shipowners,” she said.
EU officials maintain that sanctions are increasingly weighing on Russia’s economy despite Moscow’s ability to withstand multiple rounds of restrictions since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said this week that Western sanctions have cost Russia up to $1.5 trillion since the war began. Von der Leyen argued that the economic burden is being felt by ordinary Russians through falling living standards and the human cost of the conflict.
