EU Plans 19th Round of Sanctions Against Russia, Measures May Target Russian Crypto Exchanges

ChainCatcher reports that the European Union is studying a new round of sanctions against about six Russian banks and energy companies. According to sources, this would be the 19th round of EU sanctions since 2022. The measures may also involve targeting Russia's payment and credit card systems, cryptocurrency exchanges, and further tightening restrictions on Russian oil trade.

The EU hopes to coordinate some of these measures with the United States. An EU delegation will travel to Washington this week to meet with US officials and discuss the possibility of joint actions. The EU’s latest package of restrictive measures will expand sanctions on Russia’s “shadow ships,” target oil traders from third countries, and may introduce a reinsurance ban on tankers already on the sanctions list.

The EU is also considering imposing stricter sanctions on Russia’s major oil companies, removing some exemptions currently enjoyed by Russian oil. At the same time, it may ban more exports of goods and chemicals used in Russia’s military industry. According to sources, the EU is also considering activating its “anti-circumvention tool” against Kazakhstan for the first time, which would prohibit the country from importing certain machinery.

According to EU trade data, these machines are still being shipped in large quantities to Russia and are used in weapons production. Other measures under consideration include visa restrictions, restrictions on ports handling sanctioned “shadow ships,” and sanctions on services with military significance such as artificial intelligence. The sanctions proposal is expected to be formally introduced in the coming days.