ISTANBUL

The EU has passed its latest package of sanctions on Russia, the bloc’s foreign policy chief announced on Thursday.

"We just adopted our 19th sanctions package. It targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges, entities in India and China, among others," Kaja Kallas said on US social media company X.

The EU is also curbing Russian diplomats’ movements "to counter the attempts of destabilization," she added.

"It is increasingly harder for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to fund this war," Kallas noted about the Ukraine war, which is set to mark its fourth anniversary early next year.

The European Commission welcomed the adoption of the package in a statement, explaining that the new sanctions target key sectors such as energy, finance, the military industrial base, special economic zones, along with enablers and profiteers of Russia's war.

The package bans the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), effective Jan. 1, 2027, for long-term contracts, and within six months of the sanctions’ entry into force for short-term contracts.

It also removes the exemption for EU imports of oil and gas from major companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, while sanctioning two Chinese refineries and an oil trader that are major buyers of Russian crude oil.

The new package also lists 117 additional vessels from Russia's shadow fleet, bringing the total to 557 vessels.

Five new Russian banks are added to bloc's transaction ban while new bans are introduced on Moscow's payment card and fast payment system along with four new financial institutions listed in Belarus and Kazakhstan over the use of such systems.

The package also sanctions the developer, Kyrgyz issuer, and major trading platform of the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, while banning its use for the first time.

It adds 45 entities to the list of those supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex or circumventing sanctions, including 28 in Russia and 17 in third countries (12 in China, including Hong Kong, three in India, and two in Thailand).

The new measures also require Russian diplomats traveling in the EU outside their country of accreditation to notify the relevant member state in advance.

The block further introduces service bans blocking Russian access to advanced digital capabilities, including certain space-based services and AI services.