EU Commission to present 6th Package of anti-Russian sanctions

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The European Commission will present the next package of anti-Russia sanctions over Moscow's operation in Ukraine, announced the Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

"Today, we are presenting our sixth package of sanctions," von der Leyen said at a plenary session of the European Parliament.

The EU Commission's head proposed listing high-ranking Russian military and individuals involved in the operation in Ukraine in the sixth package.

Complete import ban on Russian oil

"Today, we will propose to ban all Russian oil to Europe. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil seaborn and pipeline, crude and refined. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion," the official indicated.

The bloc will "phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year," she added.

"De-SWIFT" Russia's Sberbank

Von der Leyen indicated that the Commission will be "banning three big Russian state-owned broadcasters from our airwaves. They will not be allowed to distribute their content anymore in the EU, in whatever shape or form, be it on cable, via satellite, on the internet or via smartphone apps."

According to von der Leyen, the new package also aims to "de-SWIFT" Russia's Sberbank and two other major banks, noting that by doing that, the bloc hits "banks that are systemically critical to the Russian financial system and [President Vladimir] Putin's ability to wage destruction."

"This will solidify the complete isolation of the Russian financial sector from the global system," she concluded.

In the same context, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said on Tuesday that the European Union is ready to adopt more measures against Russia's transport sector if the situation in Ukraine grows worse.

Putin signs decree on Russia’s new retaliatory sanctions

Von der Leyen's announcement comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Tuesday a decree authorizing the use of new special tit-for-tat economic measures in response to hostile activities by certain foreign nations and international organizations.

The document, in particular, forbids fulfilling obligations and finalizing deals with foreign persons and legal organizations under retaliatory restrictive measures, as well as exporting raw materials and goods from Russia for the benefit of these individuals.