European Union eyes sanctions on Russia

Brussels: European Union countries should impose biting sanctions on Russian trade and hit officials responsible for sham referendums held in parts of Ukraine as Moscow ramps up the war, senior EU officials said Wednesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Kremlin-orchestrated referendums on joining Russia are an illegal attempt to grab land and change international borders by force.

We are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation, she said.

We propose sweeping new import bans on Russian products. This will keep Russian products out of the European market and deprive Russia of an additional 7 billion euros (dollars) in revenue, von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.

She said the EU's executive branch also advises extending the bloc's own export ban to deprive the Kremlin's military complex of key technologies," including electronic components and specific chemical substances.

The proposals still must be endorsed by the 27 EU member countries.

The commission president also said the EU should lay the legal basis for a price-cap on Russian oil, without elaborating. The bloc already agreed to ban sea-borne crude starting Dec 5, but some member countries still require Russian supplies at low prices.