The European Union is preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its ongoing conflict in Ukraine, signaling continued resolve as the war drags past its three-and-a-half-year mark.
The announcement of the upcoming sanctions package, the 19th such round, comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss prospects for ending the war. Zelenskyy, who will be flanked by key European leaders during his visit, has consistently endorsed coordinated Western sanctions as a vital tool against Russia’s economic war chest.
‘As long as the bloodshed in Ukraine continues, Europe will maintain diplomatic and, in particular, economic pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions,’ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday during a joint press conference with Zelenskyy.
‘This package will be forthcoming in early September. We know that sanctions are effective. We have already put Russia’s immobilized assets to work for the benefit of Ukraine, and we will continue to put pressure on Russia’s war economy to bring President Putin to the negotiation table,’ she added.
Zelenskyy thanked von der Leyen for the additional sanction measures, adding that ‘sanctions show we are serious.’
Following waves of coordinated Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, Russia has become the world’s most sanctioned nation—more economically isolated than any country in modern history.
In 2024, Russia was the primary target of U.S. financial sanctions, with 1,706 Russian persons placed on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. In addition, Russia drove the bulk of U.S. sanctions activity, making up 70% of new names added to the Treasury’s blacklist.
The EU’s most recent package, which was announced in July, targeted Russia’s energy revenues, banking sector, military industrial base, and tightened loopholes for sanctions evasion.
In this round, the EU also blacklisted 444 vessels tied to the Kremlin’s so-called ‘ghost ships’ — a covert network of tankers that transport Russian oil around the world in defiance of G7 price caps and EU sanctions. The measure also imposed sanctions on more than 2,500 people.