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The European Union adopted its 19th package of sanctions on Russia, targeting banks, crypto exchanges, and entities in India and China, the bloc’s foreign policy chief announced Thursday.
“We just adopted our 19th sanctions package. It targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges and entities in India and China, among others,” Kaja Kallas wrote on X, the U.S. social media platform.
Kallas said the EU was also tightening travel restrictions on Russian diplomats “to counter the attempts of destabilization.”
“It is increasingly harder for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to fund this war,” she said, referring to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which will enter its fourth year early next year.
The new EU measures came a day after the United States announced sweeping sanctions on Russia’s energy sector and shipping operations, accusing Moscow of acting in bad faith in efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. sanctions hit Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, which Washington said play a central role in financing the Kremlin’s war effort.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the action as “one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation.”
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” Bessent said in a statement. “The department is prepared to take further action if necessary.”
The U.S. measures followed President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel a planned summit with Putin in Budapest, saying he did not want to have a “wasted meeting.”
The EU’s new sanctions package, confirmed Wednesday by Denmark, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, includes a range of additional restrictions after Slovakia withdrew its opposition.
The measures accelerate a planned ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports, moving its start date up to early 2027—a year earlier than previously scheduled.
The EU also blacklisted over 100 additional vessels from Russia’s “shadow fleet” of aging tankers used to evade oil export limits.
In addition, the bloc imposed new travel rules requiring Russian diplomats suspected of espionage to notify authorities before traveling outside their host countries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to sanction Russia’s oil majors.
“Appreciated this evening’s call with @SecScottBessent and the Treasury decision to sanction major Russian oil companies in the face of Russia’s lack of commitment to the peace process,” von der Leyen said on X.
She added that the U.S. sanctions, together with the EU’s 19th package, send “a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor.”
The U.S. Treasury Department said its new measures target Russia’s energy sector to “degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine” and “support its weakened economy.”
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