EU raises Russia pressure, targets oil, biggest bank

BRUSSELS: The European Union’s top official on Wednesday called on the 27-nation bloc to ban oil imports from Russia and target the country’s biggest bank and major broadcasters in a sixth package of sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, proposed having EU member nations phase out imports of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year. “We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets,” Von der Leyen said. The proposals must be unanimously approved to take effect. Von der Leyen conceded that getting all 27 member countries — some of them landlocked and highly dependent on Russia for energy supplies — to agree on oil sanctions “will not be easy.”

The EU gets about 25% of its oil from Russia. Russia supplies about 14% of diesel, S&P Global analysts said, and a cutoff could send already high prices for truck and tractor fuel towering. If approved, the ban on oil imports would be the second package of EU sanctions targeting Russia’s lucrative energy industry since the country invaded Ukraine on February 24.

In addition to sanctions on various entities and individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of his family, the EU previously approved an embargo on coal imports. The EU, which gets about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, is also mulling a possible natural gas embargo.

Hungary and Slovakia have already said they wouldn’t take part in any oil sanctions. Von der Leyen also said that the EU should target high-ranking military officers and others “who committed war crimes in Bucha,” a suburb of the capital Kyiv, where Russian troops allegedly carried out mass killings of civilians. “This sends another important signal to all perpetrators of the Kremlin’s war: We know who you are. We will hold you accountable. You’re not getting away with this,” Von der Leyen said.

EU diplomats confirmed that the commission’s plans also include an asset freeze and travel ban on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill — a long-time Putin ally. Banks are also in the EU executive arm’s sights, and notably Russia’s biggest, Sberbank. Von der Leyen said the aim is that “we de-SWIFT Sberbank.” SWIFT is the major global system for financial transfers.

“We will also de-SWIFT two other major banks in Russia. By that, we hit banks that are systemically critical to the Russian financial system and Putin’s ability to wage destruction,” she said. Von der Leyen added that the EU will be “banning three big Russian state-owned broadcasters from our airwaves” for spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine.