Von der Leyen unveils new sanctions package against Russia

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, the package was presented in Brussels by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“Almost every day now, we wake up to the same kind of news. Another major Russian strike on Ukrainian cities, targeting civilians blindly. We also wake up to the news of drones violating European airspace. Over the Baltics, and along our Eastern borders. Two weeks ago, a drone crashed into an apartment building in Romania. Another one exploded in the port of Constanța just last week,” von der Leyen said.

She argued that these developments demonstrate Russia’s failure to subjugate Ukraine.

At the same time, she noted, the cost Russia is paying for continuing the war is steadily increasing.

“The price Russia pays is heavier by the day. And it is paid primarily by the people of Russia. They are mourning sons, brothers and husbands. And at the same time, they face declining living standards at home. Inflation is close to 6%. Interest rates stand at 14.5%. Taxes are rising. This is the real cost of Putin's war for Russian citizens,” she said.

Von der Leyen stressed that EU sanctions are continuing to erode the foundations of Russia’s war economy.

“The budget is under growing pressure. More than two-thirds of the liquid assets of its sovereign wealth fund are gone. Energy revenues fell by around 40% in early 2026. Hundreds of vessels from Russia's shadow fleet have been targeted by our sanctions. Export controls are depriving Russia's defence industry of critical technologies and components. So, our consistency with the sanctions packages is paying off,” she said.

According to von der Leyen, the new package focuses on sectors with the greatest impact.

“We focus on the sectors with the highest impact: energy, financial services and crypto, trade – including fisheries, for the first time,” she said, adding that the European Commission is proposing a ban on former Russian combatants entering the European Union.

Commenting on the energy component of the sanctions package, she noted that the conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to global energy supply chains have somewhat reduced the pressure on Russia.

“So, the objective of our package could not be clearer. We want to maintain the full intensity of our sanctions. And the way to do this is to ensure that Russia's profits from oil sales remain contained. Our oil price cap has a built-in adjustment mechanism to follow the market. It was not made for market shocks like the one caused by the closure of the Strait in Hormuz. So, we propose to simply pause the adjustment until January next year,” von der Leyen said, noting that this would give oil markets time to stabilize while maintaining pressure on Russia’s revenues.

At the same time, von der Leyen stressed that the EU will continue its efforts against Russia’s shadow fleet.

“Today, we propose listing 30 more vessels on top of the 632 already sanctioned. For the first time, we are also targeting vessels that assist the shadow fleet – providing bunkering and other services for example. And we propose targeting critical infrastructure, such as ports, airports, refineries trading or processing Russian oil. Finally, we propose restricting the sale of LNG tankers to Russia, just as we already did for oil tankers,” von der Leyen said.

Commenting on the financial and cryptocurrency-related measures, she said that the EU is expanding its transaction ban to cover an additional 31 Russian banks, as well as 20 banks, crypto firms or platforms, and oil traders in third countries – “ones that have been servicing sanctioned Russian entities and individuals or circumventing our measures.”

For the first time, the EU will introduce the possibility of a complete ban on crypto-asset services for third countries.

“It will act as a strong deterrent for the countries hosting platforms that help Russia evade our sanctions,” she said.

The EU is also proposing new export restrictions on goods and technologies used by Russia’s military industry.

“For example, we are targeting more metals and alloys used in the aerospace and defence sectors. For drones, we propose new export bans on ground support equipment, and jamming and launch systems, among others. We also propose new import bans on a number of goods worth EUR 60 million. For example, it covers certain metals, metal ores or car parts. Because we want to lock in Europe's diversification away from Russian imports,” von der Leyen said.

She also noted that this time the EU is focusing on one of the last major sectors that has largely escaped sanctions so far – the fishing industry.

“We propose substantial restrictions on imports on some fish products, and a complete ban on others, including cod. And we will be aligning trade restrictions for Belarus. So it cannot serve as a backdoor for Russian trade,” von der Leyen emphasized.

Von der Leyen also reiterated the EU’s unwavering support for Ukraine and announced that by the end of this month the bloc will provide Ukraine with €6 billion for drones and more than €3 billion in macro-financial assistance.

She further noted that in the coming days the EU will open the first cluster of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.

“This basically opens the door to the next phase of the accession process: The formal start of accession negotiations. And I do not need to tell you that the Commission stands fully ready to support Ukraine on its path to our European Union where it belongs,” she concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, Ursula von der Leyen stated that the European Commission has proposed, as part of the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, banning former participants in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine from entering the European Union.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine