The European Union will impose new sanctions on Russia for waging war against Ukraine, targeting the Russian oil industry, more Russian banks and those responsible for disinformation, the EU's top diplomat has said.
"We are working on the sixth package of sanctions which aims to de-SWIFT more banks, list disinformation actors and tackle oil imports," Josep Borrell, head of the foreign policy unit at he EU's executive European Commission, said in a tweet.
The latest round of sanctions would also affect Sberbank, Russia's top lender, diplomats said, adding it to several banks that have already been excluded from the SWIFT messaging system.
Mr Borrell said the Commission's proposed measures against Russia, which attacked Ukraine by land, sea and air on 24 February, would be presented to the 27 EU member states for approval.
Officials said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to spell out the proposed new sanctions tomorrow, and that they would include a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of this year.
Earlier today Russian President Vladimir Putin put the West on notice that he could terminate exports and deals in response to the sanctions burden imposed by the EU and the United States.
Read more on the conflict in Ukraine
An embargo on Russian oil would deprive Moscow of a large revenue stream, but reaching an agreement on the measure has divided countries of the bloc, which relies on Russia for 26% of its oil imports.
Hungary and Germany were among those with reservations against an oil embargo.
Among their concerns was that surging energy prices would hurt EU economies already grappling with inflation.
Resistance to an oil import ban faded over the past week after an agreement came together that would offer exemptions to Slovakia and Hungary, diplomats told Reuters, citing two countries highly dependent on Russian crude.
EU countries have paid more than €47 billion to Russia for gas and oil since it invaded Ukraine, according to research organisation the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Mr Putin has signed a broad decree forbidding the export of products and raw materials to people and entities on a sanctions list that he instructed the government to draw up within ten days.
The decree, which came into force with its publication, gives Moscow the power to sow chaos across markets as it could at any moment halt exports or tear up contracts with an entity or individual it has sanctioned.
The Russian government has ten days to draw up lists of those it will sanction beyond the Western politicians it has already.
Mr Putin explicitly framed the decree as a response to what he cast as the illegal actions of the US and its allies meant to deprive "the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation and Russian legal entities of property rights or the restricting their property rights".
The decree sets out "retaliatory special economic measures in connection with the unfriendly actions of some foreign states and international organisations".
