The European Council of the EU has announced a fourth tranche of sanctions against Russia, this time focusing on 15 individuals and 9 entities, all with links to the Kremlin.
"Sanctioned entities include companies in the aviation, military and dual use, shipbuilding and machine building sectors," the EU said in a statement.
Among those to be targeted are Roman Abramovich, a prominent Russian oligarch, and Konstantin Ernst, the CEO of Channel One Russia, which the EU accuses of promoting "the Kremlin's narrative on the situation in Ukraine."
"We are adding to our sanctions list even more oligarchs and regime-affiliated elites, their families and prominent businesspeople, which are involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the regime," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell said.
"These sanctions also target those who have a leading role in disinformation and propaganda that accompany President Putin’s war against Ukrainian people. Our message is clear: Those who enable the invasion of Ukraine pay a price for their actions."
The latest tranche of sanctions will include measures aimed at "ramping up economic pressure on the Kremlin," such as banning transactions with Russia's military-industrial complex, banning imports of Russian steel, and banning investments in Russian energy.
The EU also intends to ban the export of luxury goods to Russian elites and to extend sanctions on more individuals considered to be close to President Putin's regime.