Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said she would also propose an EU ban on Russian and Belarusian road transport. “This ban will drastically limit the options for Russian industry to acquire basic goods,” she said. The new sanctions will be discussed by EU ambassadors this week with a view to reaching a unanimous agreement between the 27 Member States. Pressure for new sanctions has risen following allegations that Russian forces committed atrocities against civilians around Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Russia has denied the allegations. Von der Leyen said the sanctions would include a “complete ban on transactions” at four Russian banks, including VTB, adding that they would now be “completely cut off from the markets”. Other measures in the sanctions package – the EU’s fifth since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 – include targeted export bans of 10 billion euros in areas including quantum computers and advanced semiconductors. There will also be specific new bans, worth 5.5 billion euros, on products such as wood, cement, seafood and beverages. The package follows growing calls for the EU to directly target Russia’s energy sector, given its contribution to the country’s economy and public revenues. Among the ideas also under discussion are restrictions on oil imports, although these are not expected to be included in this week’s sanctions package. The majority of Russian exports to the EU are hydrocarbons, Valdis Dobrovskis, the executive vice-president of the commission, said separately after the meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday. “If we really want to influence the Russian economy, we have to look there, and that is exactly what is being discussed about this fifth package,” he said.

Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, who holds the rotating EU presidency, has confirmed that Member States were ready to include the wider energy sector in sanctions on a date that has not yet been set. “In the face of Russian aggression we must be more united than ever – and all Member States have reiterated their willingness to extend import restrictions and intensify efforts against Russia, and we have discussed expanding the list of people subject to sanctions and companies as well, “he said. Work on a possible oil ban includes considering phasing out imports in conjunction with the release of strategic oil reserves. Other options could include imposing tariffs on Russian oil or channeling certain payments into a guarantee account to be used to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.