No visas for Russian soldiers, no crypto, no fish — EU announces new Russia sanctions package

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the EU's forthcoming 21st sanctions package against Russia at a press conference in Brussels on June 9.

The package comes amid rising global fossil fuel prices and will include a freeze on the current pricing mechanism for Russia energy imports until the end of 2026, meaning Moscow won't be able to profit from rising prices resulting from the U.S. war on Iran.

The measures also expand efforts to target third countries that help sustain Russia's war machine.

"The conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to global energy supply chains have eased some pressure on Russia. So the objective of our package couldn't be clearer," von der Leyen told reporters.

EU sanctions were "not made for market shocks like the one caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. So we propose to simply pause the adjustment until January next year," she added.

The package contains several other significant items beyond the energy price cap. It comes as Russia shows no sign of readiness to engage in meaningful peace negotiations with Ukraine.

The EU's diplomatic arm is "putting forward the largest set of listings in over two years, with over 170 proposals, notably on the financial sector, energy, and drones' production," the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote on social media.

Russian military personnel, both current and former, would also be denied entry to the EU if the proposal is approved by member states.

"Europe's door should not be open to Russia's (ex-)combatants," Kallas wrote.

The package also introduces new restrictions on crypto and financial services, including in third countries. For the first time, the EU is proposing a full ban on crypto-asset services linked to jurisdictions that facilitate sanctions evasion.

Von der Leyen said this would serve as a deterrent for platforms enabling Russia to bypass restrictions.

And even import restrictions and bans on Russian fish have been proposed for the first time. Those latter measures, like others, will also apply to Belarus, von der Leyen said, so as to prevent sanctions evasion via the Russia ally but otherwise landlocked nation.  

On top of this, there will also be new sanctions against individuals, an additional 30 ships from the Russian shadow fleet that Moscow uses to bypass restrictions on energy exports, and new measures to punish vessels that offer ship-to-ship support to the shadow fleet.

No individual names were mentioned as yet. It is EU policy not to disclose specific entities ahead of publication, so as to limit the ability of sanctions targets to take evasive measures.

Some sanctions are expected to be voted through formally at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg on June 15, while the rest could be formally adopted in July, if there is unanimity among EU countries.