Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Thursday, European Union countries officially adopted the 19th sanctions package against Russia, which now includes a ban on Russian LNG imports, in response to its war against Ukraine.
A day earlier, the 27-member nations had already approved the package by Wednesday evening after Slovakia lifted its opposition.
“It’s a significant package that targets main Russian revenue streams through new energy, financial, and trade measures,”
the Danish rotating presidency of the EU stated.
Today, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, announced in a post on X handle that the EU officially adopted the 19th sanction package.
“It targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges, entities in India and China, among others,”
Kallas said.
“The EU is curbing Russian diplomats’ movements to counter the attempts at destabilization. It is increasingly harder for Putin to fund this war.”
We just adopted our 19th sanctions package.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) October 23, 2025
It targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges, entities in India and China, among others.
The EU is curbing Russian diplomats’ movements to counter the attempts of destabilisation.
It is increasingly harder for Putin to fund this war.
How does the new LNG import ban take effect?
The LNG ban will be implemented in two phases: short-term contracts will conclude after six months, and long-term contracts will end starting January 1, 2027. The complete ban occurs a year ahead of the Commission’s plan to eliminate the bloc’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
How is the EU restricting russian diplomats’ movements within Europe?
The package also introduces a new mechanism to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats within the EU, according to the statement. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that the ban on LNG imports is a significant move toward completely removing Russian energy from the EU.
The new package introduces additional travel restrictions on Russian diplomats and lists 117 more vessels from Moscow’s shadow fleet, mostly tankers, increasing the total to 558. The presidency announced that the listings feature banks from Kazakhstan and Belarus.
EU diplomatic sources informed Reuters that four entities associated with China’s oil sector will be listed, although their names will remain confidential until the official announcement on Thursday. These comprise two oil refineries, a trading company, and an entity that facilitates circumvention in the oil sector and other industries.
How does the package compare to the previous 18th sanctions package?
The previous package of sanctions, which was the European Union’s 18th sanctions package imposed on Russia, was approved on July 18, 2025. This package was one of the toughest sanctions packages enacted thus far, directed largely toward the goal of decreasing Russia’s energy revenues, targeting the banking systems, and further deteriorating trade related to military goods.
The most significant measures included adding 105 additional vessels to the prohibited list, a ban on the importation of refined oil products exported through third countries, banning transactions relating to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, and lowering the price cap of Russian crude oil from $60 per barrel to $47.6 per barrel.
