The bloc is targeting Moscow’s banks, trade partners, and diplomats, Brussels’ foreign policy chief has announced
European Union nations have adopted their 19th package of sanctions on Russia, targeting banks, crypto exchanges, and Indian and Chinese businesses, as well as Moscow’s diplomats, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, announced on Thursday.
The passage of the new restrictions had been broadly reported as imminent by the media, which said the approved text was not subject to any changes. Moscow has repeatedly called Western attempts to put pressure on it in a bid to support Ukraine’s war effort futile and self-harming.
The EU passed its 18th round of sanctions in July, while work on a 20th is already underway, according to officials. Brussels’ move follows fresh restrictions imposed by the US, which target Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
We just adopted our 19th sanctions package.It targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges, entities in India and China, among others.The EU is curbing Russian diplomats’ movements to counter the attempts of destabilisation.It is increasingly harder for Putin to fund this war.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) October 23, 2025
Washington’s move came after a proposal to hold a second summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump stalled. According to media reports, the White House was unhappy that the Kremlin refused to suspend hostilities with Kiev as requested by Trump, maintaining that any pause would only be used by Ukraine to reinforce its military.
Trump has been pressuring European NATO members to hit China with sweeping trade tariffs due to its continued purchases of Russian energy. The current US administration is engaged in what the president calls a “trade war” against Beijing.
The EU strategy for dealing with the Ukraine conflict has been causing increasing internal rifts, with dissenting nations, including Hungary and Slovakia, urging Brussels to reconsider its approach. Those nations say a swift compromise to the conflict is required if damage to member states is to be mitigated.
Sanctions against Russia, particularly the rejection of Russian energy, have undermined EU businesses’ competitiveness, as they have had to switch to more expensive sources, such as liquified natural gas imported from the US.
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