European Commission Releases Sanctions that Propose Complete Ban of Russian LNG Imports
The European Commission is seeking to completely ban Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) imports as part of a new round of sanctions announced on Friday.
The sanctions are in response to Russia escalating use of drones to target civilian and EU infrastructure in Ukraine that show the “full extent of its contempt for diplomacy and international law,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a video statement Friday afternoon.
“The threats to our Union are also rising,” von der Leyen said. “In the last two weeks, Russian drones have violated our Union’s airspace both in Poland and Romania. These are not the actions of someone who wants peace.”
The new sanctions would be the EU’s 19th attempt to use financial controls to get Russia to the negotiating table to end its war of aggression in Ukraine. The EU had already imposed sanctions on the import of Russian fossil fuels into the bloc, drastically changing the energy landscape on the continent and cutting off critical revenue for Russia.
But an EU energy spokesperson told The Guardian that eight countries—Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain—are believed to still be purchasing Russian gas through pipelines or LNG. Friday’s sanctions would cut off this activity by completely banning Russia LNG imports by 1 January 2027, one year earlier than planned.
“It is time to turn off the tap,” von der Leyen added. “We are prepared for this. We have been saving energy. We have been diversifying supplies. We have been investing in low-carbon supplies of energy like never before. And today these efforts pay off.”
Russian oil revenues from Europe are down 90 percent since 2022, and during that time the European Union has invested billions of dollars in clean energy—including €110 billion ($129 billion) in renewable energy generation in 2023 as part of its climate neutral goal by 2050.
Additionally, the commission plans to add 118 new vessels to its sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet—older oil tankers that Russia uses to evade sanctions—which will ultimately affect more than 560 vessels, von der Leyen explained.
The commission is also proposing an asset freeze on other companies that continue to purchase Russian oil in breach of existing sanctions. The new sanctions will target refineries, oil traders, and petrochemical companies in third countries—such as China—and eliminate remaining exemptions from previous sanctions on Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.
Along with penalties for fossil fuels, the commission is proposing sanctions to close financial loopholes that Russia has continued to use to evade sanctions. Von der Leyen said the commission would place a transaction ban on additional banks in Russia and third countries and place prohibitions on transactions in cryptocurrencies.
Lastly, the new sanctions would also place direct export restrictions on items and technologies that Russia is using on the battlefield. The commission plans to list 45 companies in Russia and other countries in its new sanctions list who are accused of providing direct or indirect support to the Russian military industrial complex.
“In a war driven by innovation, cutting off Russia’s access to key technologies is crucial above all when it comes to drones,” von der Leyen added.
In an accompanying statement, High Representative/Vice-President of the EU Commission Kaja Kallas said the new sanctions will “squeeze Russia’s access” to artificial intelligence (AI) and geospatial data technologies, as well as critical resources that “feed weapons production.”
Both von der Leyen and Kallas said the end goal of the sanctions is to get Russia to negotiate with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace.
“Europe wants peace for Ukraine,” Kallas said. “But despite weeks of diplomatic efforts, Russia only intensifies its aggression and is now breaching the European Union’s own borders. Depriving Moscow of the means to wage war is essential to end this war and protect the security of our continent.”
After details of the sanctions are released, the 27 members of the EU will need to discuss and approve them. The Guardian reports that Hungary and Slovakia will be in the spotlight since they have a “history of blocking or delaying proposed measures.”
The sanctions announcement comes just days after Poland urged the EU to end Russian oil purchases by 2026 and a separate call by U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO nations to stop buying oil from Russia.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA,” Trump posted to his social media account on Truth Social. “…the purchase of Russian oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia.”
