The European Union announced on Thursday that it had approved an embargo on Russian coal as well as the closure of the bloc's ports to Russian vessels in response to the war in Ukraine.

According to a French presidency official, the moves are the beginning of a "very substantial" fifth round of sanctions against Moscow.

This package also includes a $10.9-billion ban on exports to Russia, including high-tech goods, as well as the freezing of the assets of several Russian banks.

In addition to the sanctions, the EU agreed to increase its funding for arms supplies to Ukraine by $543 million, bringing the total to $1.6 billion.

On his account, the European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet that the package would be "swiftly approved".

It is the first time that the Europeans have targeted Russia's energy sector, on which they rely heavily.

The EU imports 45 percent of its coal from Russia, which costs the EU $4.5 billion per year.

The embargo will go into effect at the beginning of August, 120 days after the new package is published in the EU's official journal, which is expected on Friday.

Furthermore, the list of Russian products barred from entering the EU is also being expanded to include certain "critical raw materials and equipment" worth an estimated $6 billion per year.

Russian and Belarussian road haulers are now barred from operating in the EU, according to a series of tweets from the French Presidency.

The EU's blacklist is being expanded by more than 200 names, including Russian oligarchs and Vladimir Putin's two daughters, AFP reported.

The status-quo and the EU sanctions on Russia have weakened its citizens' purchasing power, causing prices to soar with oil prices reaching their all-time high following a ban on Russian fuel exports. Sanctions also threaten to put Europeans in the eye of the storm of a significant food shortage risk.