EU 'stepping up pressure' on Russia with proposed 9th package of sanctions

ANKARA

The European Union is proposing to add around 200 more individuals and entities to its sanctions list and to introduce sanctions against three more Russian banks in an effort to step up pressure against Moscow over the war against Ukraine, the president of the European Commission said Wednesday.

In a video message shared on Twitter, Ursula von der Leyen said the EU’s previous eight sanctions packages against Russia are "already biting hard" and the bloc is now "stepping up pressure on Russia" with a ninth package.

“First, we are proposing to add almost 200 additional individuals and entities to our sanctions list. This includes the Russian armed forces as well as individual officers and defense industrial companies, members of the State Duma and Federation Council, ministers, governors and political parties,” she noted.

Von der Leyen noted that they also propose to introduce sanctions against three additional Russian banks, including "a full transaction ban" on the Russian Regional Development Bank.

"And third, we also want to impose new export controls and restrictions, particularly for dual-use goods. This includes key chemicals, nerve agents, electronics and IT components that could be used by the Russian war machine," she said.

She also announced that this package aims to cut Russia’s access to all sorts of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as they propose to ban direct exports of drone engines to Russia and exports to any third countries such as Iran, “which could supply drones to Russia.”

The package also includes the targeting of “the Russian propaganda machine” by taking four additional channels off the air and further economic measures against Russia’s energy and mining sector, including a ban on new mining investments in Russia, added Von der Leyen.