European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
(Picture: AP)The EU has approved fresh sanctions against Russia, including a price cap on Russian oil, after Moscow illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine.
The sanctions include fresh curbs on EU exports of aircraft components to Russia and limits on steel imports from the country, according to an official statement from the Czech rotating EU presidency.
The EU will impose a ban on transporting Russian oil by sea to other countries above the price cap, although a specific price for the future cap has yet to be set.
The deal was hard to reach because some members of the bloc feared it would damage their shipping industries.
The package was proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week after Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, and its southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, following sham referendums held in the occupied territories.
“We have moved quickly and decisively," Ms von der Leyen said as she welcomed the deal.
“We will never accept Putin’s sham referenda nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine. We are determined to continue making the Kremlin pay."
The new sanctions also include an “extended import ban" on goods such as steel products, wood pulp, paper, machinery and appliances, said officials.
A ban on providing IT, engineering and legal services to Russian entities will also take effect.
The package is the eighth round of sanctions on Russia from the EU after Putin invaded Ukraine in February.
Other measures to date include restrictions on energy from Russia, bans on financial transactions with Russian entities and asset freezes against more than 1,000 people.
The EU’s planned ban on most Russian oil products could force Russia to lower prices to find new customers.
However, the OPEC alliance of oil-exporting countries declared Wednesday they would sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices.
The group said the decision was based on the “uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks.”
