How the EU aims to put the squeeze on the Russian economy with new sanctions package
Key measures include a lower oil price cap, Nord Stream transaction ban, more shadow fleet sanctions, and a full ban on Russian bank deals.
'We are striking at the heart of Russia 's war machine,' EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X.
'The pressure is on. It will stay on until Putin ends this war.'
The measures are intended to ramp up pressure on Russia amid flagging peace negotiations, as well as targeting companies and countries that allow Moscow to evade existing sanctions.
They were approved on Friday after weeks of delay caused by repeated Slovakian and Maltese vetoes over natural gas and shipping respectively.
Here, The Independent looks at the key measures and their potential impact on the Russian economy.
Lower oil price cap
The EU will impose a moving price cap on Russian crude at 15 percent below its average market price, EU diplomats said.
At present this sets the cap at about $47.60 per barrel, well below the $60 maximum that the G7 have tried to impose since December 2022. A fall in oil futures made the $60 cap largely symbolic.
The cap bans trade of Russian crude above the set maximum, prohibiting shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling tankers carrying it.
It is designed to limit Moscow's crude revenues, the cornerstone of its war coffers and economy, to make it harder to fund the war without disrupting the global oil market by cutting off supply entirely.
The EU has limited powers to enforce the measure due to US resistance. Oil is largely traded in dollars with payment clearing controlled by US banks.
So far Russia has been able to sell most of its oil as the current mechanism does not specify who should police its implementation.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Turkey and India have also both continued to import Russian oil and refine it into products which are sent on to the EU.
The EU will no longer import any petroleum products made from Russian crude, although the ban will not apply to imports from Norway, Britain, the US, Canada and Switzerland, EU diplomats said.
Shadow fleet
A further 105 vessels have been banned from accessing EU ports and locks, and undertaking ship-to-ship transfers of oils.
The measure aims to shut down the so-called shadow fleet of older oil tankers transporting Russian oil and evading sanctions.
The rise of a vast shadow fleet has been helping Moscow maintain its crude exports, keeping revenue flowing.
The EU has now sanctioned more than 400 shadow fleet ships.
Nord Stream gas pipelines ban
Transactions related to Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines will be banned, including any provisions of goods or services to these projects.
A network of natural gas pipelines run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and were thought to represent Berlin's over-reliance on Moscow for energy.
They were disabled after 2022 explosions damaged three of them.
But reports in the Financial Times in March suggested that Kremlin-linked Russian and US business people were seeking their reactivation.
Financial sector
A full ban on all transactions with Russian financial institutions - already excluded from the Swift interbank messaging system - will come into place.
The ban extends to transactions with Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and its investments.
The move aims to further restrict Russia's access to international financial markets and foreign currency.
The EU also lowered the threshold for slapping sanctions on international financial and credit institutions which circumvent sanctions or support Russia's war effort. For example, by circumventing the oil price cap.
'We are putting more pressure on Russia's military industry, Chinese banks that enables sanctions evasion, and blocking tech exports used in drones,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X, without providing further details or names.
When asked about the sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has built up a certain 'immunity' to Western sanctions and adapted to them.
Peskov called the sanctions illegal, saying every new restriction created negative consequences for those countries that backed them.
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