The EU is targeting Russia’s LNG sector as part of a new sanctions package

Officials said EU member states signed a new package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday, targeting its lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector for the first time.

New measures — which should be formally adopted on Monday — are aimed at further strangling the war machine of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This uncompromising package will further prevent Russia from accessing key technologies,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It will deprive Russia of further energy revenues and deal with Putin’s shadow fleet and shadow banking network abroad.”

Diplomats reported on the latest sanctions — The 14th round imposed on Moscow by the EU since the 2022 invasion — include a ban on the transshipment of Russian LNG through Europe. They do not include a ban on the purchase of Russian LNG by EU countries.

European ports are important to Russia because the continent offers a key route for exporting LNG from frozen Arctic ports to Asian markets during the winter months. The main delivery points for LNG from the Siberian Yamal Peninsula are ports in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain.

The Belgian port of Zeebrugge and the French port of Montoir are particularly important hubs for re-exports to countries such as China, Taiwan and Turkey.

The package also includes measures to make it more difficult for Russia to use a “shadow fleet” of ships of unclear origin to circumvent EU sanctions on Russian oil.

The EU will also impose sanctions on Moscow’s SPFS banking messaging system, which Russia uses in an attempt to ease the impact of being cut off from the global financial transfer system SWIFT.

Germany has held up an agreement on the latest sanctions package, insisting on easing obligations on EU companies to prevent third countries from re-exporting their sanctioned products to Russia.

The EU wants to restrict the flow of goods that could be used on the battlefield, such as microchips, through countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Diplomats said several more Chinese companies accused of helping the Russian military have also been added to a blacklist preventing EU companies from trading with them.

Restrictions have also been placed on political parties, think tanks and media providers accepting money from Russia in a bid to deter Moscow’s alleged meddling.