The European Union's top official on Wednesday called for a ban on oil imports from Russia in a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow.
Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and two other major banks should be disconnected from the international banking payment system according to a proposal by the European Commission President.
Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that the EU's member nations should stop imports of crude oil by the end of the year.
von der Leyen said that they would phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion so that they could secure alternative supply routes and minimize the impact on global markets.
The proposals are likely to be the subject of a lot of debate. It will not be easy to get all 27 member countries to agree on oil sanctions.
Russia is still winning the energy war.
The second package of EU sanctions targeting Russia's lucrative energy industry will be approved if the ban on oil imports is approved. The bloc approved an embargo on coal imports, as well as sanctions on various entities and individuals.
The EU has started discussions on a possible natural gas embargo, but it's difficult to get consensus among member countries on targeting the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes.
Hungary and Slovakia have already said they wouldn't take part in any oil sanctions, but von der Leyen didn't say if they would get an exemption from the sanctions.
Von der Leyen said that the EU should target high-ranking military officers who committed war crimes in a suburb of the capital. Ukrainian officials have accused Russian troops of carrying out mass killings of civilians.
This sends another important signal to all the perpetrators of the Kremlin's war: we know who you are. We will hold you accountable. Von der Leyen told the lawmakers that they were not getting away with it.
Sberbank is one of the banks in the EU executive arm. Von der Leyen said the aim is to de-Sberbank, which is the major global system for financial transfers.
Sberbank holds around 37% of the Russian banking sector, according to Von der Leyen.
SWIFT will be the only major bank in Russia. She said that we hit banks that are critical to the Russian financial system.
Sanctions on Russia could change the global financial system.
Von der Leyen said that those who were spreading misinformation about the war in Ukraine would be targeted.
Three big Russian state-owned broadcasters are being banned from our airwaves. They will not be allowed to distribute their content in the EU in any form, be it on cable, satellite, or the internet.
She didn't name the broadcasters directly, but she branded the television channels that amplify Putin's lies and propaganda aggressively. They should not be given a stage to spread their lies.
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