Saying it was important to maintain the “utmost pressure on Putin and the Russian government at this crucial point”, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and high representative of the union for foreign affairs Josep Borrell have revealed details of a new package of sanctions against Russia.

Citing the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas that Russian troops recently left Von der Leyen said that the atrocities will not be left unanswered. “The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must not go unpunished,” she said in a statement to the press in Strasbourg, where she appeared alongside Borrell.

As already announced, the commission president said that the EU has set up a joint investigation team with Ukraine to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

She said the four packages of sanctions the EU had already announced have delivered tangible results but that further pressure needed to be applied. The fifth package of sanctions includes:

·      An import ban on coal from Russia, worth €4 billion per year, cutting another important revenue source for Russia.

·      A full transaction ban on 4 key Russian banks, among them VTB, the 2nd largest Russian bank.

·      A ban on Russian & Russian operated vessels from accessing EU ports and a ban on Russian and Belarusian road transport operators.

·      Further export bans, worth €10 billion, in crucial areas: advanced semiconductors, machinery and transport equipment

·      Specific new import bans, worth €5.5 billion euros.

·      Targeted measures, such as a ban on participation of Russian companies in public procurement in the EU and the exclusion of all financial support from the EU or national to Russian public bodies.

“European tax money should not go to Russia in whatever shape or form,” von der Leyen said. The EU is also proposing further sanctions against individuals.

“We are working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports, and reflecting on some of the ideas of the member states, like taxes or specific payment channels such as an escrow account,” the commission president concluded.