The European Union has approved the fifth package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The measures taken by the EU include an “extended ban” on deposits in cryptocurrency wallets and the sale of banknotes and securities in any currency of EU member states to individuals and legal entities from the Russian Federation and Belarus.

The European Commission also announced that it has banned the provision of major cryptocurrency services in the Russian Federation.

The EU document says this contributes to “closing the gaps” in the restrictions currently in place.

Among other enforcement measures, there are prohibitions on:

• Purchase, import or transfer of Russian coal from August 2022;
• entry of Russian ships into EU ports;
• activities of motor transport enterprises of the Russian Federation and Belarus, including those carrying goods in transit
• fuel exports for jet engines, quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, high-tech electronics, software, engineering and transportation equipment;
• imports of timber, cement, fertilizers, seafood and spirits.

New companies, businessmen, officials, and family members of previously sanctioned individuals were also sanctioned for spreading the “Kremlin narrative about Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine.”

In addition, a complete ban is imposed on transactions with the four major Russian banks, which account for 23% of the market share in the Russian banking sector.

“These sanctions were taken after the atrocities committed by the Russian military in Bucha and other Russian-occupied places. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the purpose of the sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behavior of Russian troops and to make it clear to the Kremlin decision makers that their aggression will be costly.

Earlier, a bill was introduced in the United States that would allow the Treasury to block cryptocurrency exchange transactions with addresses from people on sanctions lists.

Coinbase and Tether announced that they are ready to impose sanctions on Russia. Similar statements were made by MetaMask and OpenSea. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kuna, WhiteBIT and CEX.io platforms blocked Russian users.

The largest crypto exchanges in South Korea have also imposed restrictions for users in the Russian Federation.