Following Russia’s military activity in Ukraine, the European Commission (EC) has imposed its fifth round of sanctions on the country. All Russian vessels are barred from entering EU ports, according to one of the six points of the newest round of sanctions. Certain essential commodities, such as agricultural and food supplies, humanitarian relief, and electricity, will be exempted.
Additionally, the EC has also implemented a ban on Russian and Belarusian transport operators. This aims to drastically limit the options for Russian industry to obtain key goods.
“The four packages of sanctions have hit hard and limited the Kremlin’s political and economic options. We are seeing tangible results. But clearly, in view of events, we need to increase our pressure further, suggested EU Leader.
“Today, we are proposing to take our sanctions a step further. We will make them broader and sharper, so that they cut even deeper in the Russian economy.”
The EC sanctions also include an import ban on coal from Russia worth €4 billion ($4.3 billion) per year, a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, further targeted export bans in areas the country is most vulnerable, and specific new import bans worth €5.5 billion ($5.9 billion).
