The US and the EU are set to unveil new sanctions on Russia this week, after allegations from Ukraine of potential war crimes against civilians by Russian forces galvanized a push for tougher measures against the Kremlin.
On Tuesday, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, proposed broad new sanctions on Russia, European officials said, including a ban on imports of Russian coal, slashing the access of Russian road and shipping goods carriers into the bloc, targeting oligarchs and their families and blocking some machinery exports.
The measures will need backing from the bloc’s 27 member states. Meanwhile, the U.S. plans Wednesday to announce a new package of sanctions that would include a ban on all new investment in Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sanctions will also include additional measures hitting Russian financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, and Russian government officials and their families, the people said.
The proposed ban on Russian coal, confirmed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, would be the first time the EU has agreed to block imports of one of Russia’s main energy supplies. EU capitals remain divided on whether to impose a ban on Russian oil and gas imports, although the momentum behind introducing a phased-in embargo of Russian oil supplies is gathering.
The EU proposals also include a complete ban on transactions with several additional Russian banks, three of which have already been removed from the SWIFT financial transactions network, including VTB, Russia’s second biggest lender, the officials said.
In Washington, the Biden administration is considering tightening sanctions against Russian financial institutions already subject to measures restricting some of their foreign transactions, the people said. Banks the U.S. is expected to impose sanctions on this week include Sberbank, Russia’s largest, and Alfa Bank, one of Russia’s top private lenders. The U.S. is also expected to sanction two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. has already imposed so-called blocking sanctions against VTB and its subsidiaries, which prohibit transactions by U.S. banks and firms and freeze any assets they have within U.S. jurisdiction.
Last week, diplomats indicated many EU member states wanted to focus on consolidating and reinforcing the sanctions measures they had already taken. But the sentiment in capitals shifted rapidly over the weekend. On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron joined public calls for a ban on Russian coal and oil imports for the first time.
Officials are confident most measures can win approval by avoiding the more controversial oil and gas restrictions. German officials have been among those questioning the efficiency of keeping Russian ships out of the bloc—a measure that has already been taken by the U.K.
The proposed ban on Russian road freight carriers would also affect Belarusian carriers, as well as Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels. There will be exemptions for humanitarian-linked trade such as food and medicine and for energy.
The EU will also place a quota cap on the import of potash, officials said. The material is used for fertilizer and is widely purchased from Belarus. The sanctions package is also planned to ban a range of other Russian and Belarus imports, including wood, cement, seafood and liquor, worth €5.5 billion, equivalent to about $6.5 billion, according to the European Commission.
The Commission said it would also blacklist dozens of additional Russian oligarchs, politicians and senior officials and will sanction some prominent family members. The current list includes two daughters of Mr. Putin, according to officials. The bloc has already sanctioned the son-in-law of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Mr. Putin doesn’t speak publicly about his family. He has two daughters from a former wife, according to the Kremlin. It isn’t known if Mr. Putin has other children, and it couldn’t be learned if the daughters being targeted in the new EU sanctions were those he has publicly acknowledged. The couple said in 2013 their marriage was over.
The bloc will also stop the export of some high-tech machinery to Russia, including quantum computers and advanced semiconductors as well as sensitive electrical and transport equipment worth around €10 billion in annual exports, Ms. von der Leyen said.
“Russia is waging a cruel and ruthless war, not only against Ukraine’s brave troops, but also against its civilian population,” she said. “It is important to sustain utmost pressure on Putin and the Russian government at this critical point.”
But Lithuanian Foreign Minister
Gabrielius Landsbergis on Tuesday evening criticized the EU’s proposed sanctions package, calling it a “feeble response” which is “an invitation for more atrocities.”
“Coal, four banks…a ban on ports and borders (with exceptions) is not really an adequate sanctions package to the massacres that are being uncovered,” he said on Twitter.
If the latest measures are adopted, attention will likely swiftly return to how to reduce oil imports from Russia. Germany has said it could end imports by the end of the year, but there is pressure to move more quickly. For now, the chances of agreeing to a stop to Russian gas imports appear very slim, diplomats said.
Ms. von der Leyen said among the ideas that have been proposed by member states is a tax or tariff on Russian oil imports to increase their price and reduce demand. Also floated was the idea of paying Russia only into special escrow accounts, from which Russia wouldn’t be able to easily use the revenue, she said.
On Tuesday, U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Britain would push North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Group of Seven partners to agree on a timetable for eliminating Russian energy imports.
That kind of solution could offer the likes of Germany, Hungary and Slovakia time to reduce their imports of Russian gas and oil but still demonstrate to the Kremlin that its energy revenue from Europe will shrink sharply in the months ahead. Germany has already said it could stop buying Russian oil by the end of the year although it has said it would need some Russian gas imports through 2024.
Also Tuesday, Spain and Italy became the latest EU countries to kick out Russian officials in a bid, European officials say, to disrupt Russian intelligence and spying networks in the bloc. The EU also said it was asking some Russian officials to leave.
Italy said it would kick out 30 Russian officials and Spain, around 25. The European Union also said it was ordering 19 staff out of Russia’s Brussels mission, where it has around 60 diplomats.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 200 Russian diplomats have now been ordered to leave.
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