EU plans to launch the 19th round of sanctions against Russia, measures may involve cracking down on Russian crypto exchanges

According to ChainCatcher, the EU is studying a new round of sanctions on about six Russian banks and energy companies. This will be the 19th round of sanctions in the EU since 2022, people familiar with the matter said. The measures may also involve cracking down on Russia's payment and credit card systems, cryptocurrency exchanges, and further tightening restrictions on Russian oil trade. The EU hopes to coordinate some of these measures with the United States. A delegation of EU officials will travel to Washington this week to meet with the United States and discuss the possibility of joint action. The latest EU restrictions will expand sanctions on Russia's "shadow vessels" targeting oil traders in third countries and potentially introduce reinsurance bans on listed tankers. The EU is also considering imposing stricter sanctions on major Russian oil companies, eliminating some exemptions such as the current Russian oil entitlement. At the same time, more exports of commodities and chemicals used in Russia's military industry may be banned. According to people familiar with the matter, the EU is also considering the first time that its "anti-avoidance tool" is being activated against Kazakhstan, which will ban the country from importing certain machines. According to EU trade data, these machines are still being transported to Russia in large quantities and are used in weapons production. Other measures under consideration include restrictions on visas, restrictions on ports dealing with sanctioned “shadow vessels” and imposing sanctions on military-significant services such as artificial intelligence. The sanctions proposal is expected to be formally proposed in the coming days.