European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced today, Wednesday, the imposition of a tenth package of sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, as the first anniversary of the war approaches.
Von der Leyen said - in a video statement - that the new sanctions package includes a ban on the European Union's export of industrial goods and biotechnology worth 11 billion euros ($12 billion) and controls on 47 new electronic components used in Russian weapons systems, including drones, missiles and helicopters.
She stressed that the goal is to target industrial goods "that Russia needs and that it cannot obtain from other countries such as China," noting "vital products with electrical equipment, specialized vehicles, machinery parts, spare parts for trucks and aircraft engines."
She added that Russian sanctions will target Iran in connection with providing Tehran with drones that the Kremlin used to launch attacks on Ukraine, and that 7 Iranian entities will be punished.
Von der Leyen said the EU was "ready to include more Iranian and other entities that provide sensitive technology to Russia".
She added that this would be a broader deterrent.
She also said that the commission is also targeting more individuals in the Russian media, as Russian President Vladimir Putin is "waging war in the public space".
She added that the European Union should intensify its efforts to prevent the evasion of sanctions and to conduct a census of the assets of Russian central banks in the European bloc.
Two EU diplomatic sources - who spoke on condition of anonymity - said the Commission had proposed that the bloc's countries exclude 4 more Russian banks from the global financial system "SWIFT".
People familiar with the secret talks also stated that the union would add rubber and asphalt to the list of materials prohibited from being imported from Russia, and would also ban the broadcasting of the "Russia Today" service in Arabic from its territory.
European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the new sanctions would also include freezing the assets of 100 other individuals and entities and denying them visas.
Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament - before closed talks of envoys of the bloc's member states in Brussels - "We are weakening Russia's ability to maintain its war machine. We have adopted 9 packages of sanctions, and the Russian economy is shrinking... and we need to keep up the pressure."
The European Union has already imposed several packages of sanctions on Russia since its war on Ukraine last February, targeting the Russian economy, financial system, central bank and senior Russian government officials.
But diplomats in the bloc acknowledged that the areas that can be targeted with each new package of sanctions are running out.