After weeks of mounting international pressure and internal negotiations, the European Union on September 19, 2025, unveiled its 19th package of proposed sanctions against Russia, aiming to ramp up the economic squeeze on the Kremlin and its network of global supporters. This latest round, which still requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states, targets the heart of Russia’s war economy: energy, banking, and defense industries. But perhaps most notably, it marks a new chapter in the West’s campaign by extending the sanctions net to Chinese and other foreign companies purchasing Russian oil, signaling a willingness to confront third-party enablers of Moscow’s war effort.
The measures, announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, come at a time when the EU faces not just the challenge of sustaining pressure on Russia, but also the competing demands and hesitancy of key allies, most notably the United States. According to Foreign Policy, the EU’s incremental but persistent approach stands in stark contrast to Washington’s recent passivity. Since President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. has refrained from tightening its own sanctions regime, instead urging the EU to take the lead. Trump himself, in a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has really let me down,” but reiterated that further U.S. action would only follow once Europe had moved decisively to squeeze Russia and its main customers.
Yet, as The Wall Street Journal reported, the EU’s new package is as much about optics as it is about substance. With Trump’s administration demanding more assertive action, the bloc’s leaders have been eager to demonstrate that Europe is indeed ramping up economic pressure on Russia and those who support its war effort in Ukraine. “We know that our sanctions are an effective tool of economic pressure. And we will keep using them until Russia comes to the negotiation table with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace,” von der Leyen stated, underscoring the EU’s long-term commitment.
Energy remains the linchpin of Russia’s war economy, and the EU’s latest moves reflect growing impatience with the slow pace of weaning the continent off Russian fossil fuels. As of 2025, Russia still rakes in more than 500 million euros per day from fossil fuel sales—a staggering figure that continues to bankroll its military operations. Over the past three years, however, European oil revenues flowing to Russia have plummeted by 90 percent, a fact von der Leyen highlighted as a turning point. “We are now turning that page for good,” she said, announcing a ban on European Union purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and expanded sanctions against the Russian oil sector.
The package accelerates the EU’s phase-out of Russian LNG imports, moving the deadline up to the beginning of 2027. This is a partial concession to U.S. demands but also a nod to the political realities within the EU itself. Major buyers like France, Belgium, and the Netherlands—whose long-term contracts and economic clout have slowed the process—now face increased pressure to cut ties with Russian suppliers. Germany, which receives much of this gas, is also in the spotlight, as are smaller states like Hungary and Slovakia, whose reliance on Russian energy and friendly ties with Moscow have previously delayed sanctions rounds.
Another headline measure is the targeting of “shadow tankers”—unregistered vessels that illicitly ferry Russian oil in defiance of Western limits. The EU will add 118 more tankers to its blacklist, a necessary step given that Russia’s use of these ships has surged over the summer. Yet, as Foreign Policy points out, these efforts remain insufficient without U.S. cooperation, since only the global reach of the U.S. dollar and financial system can fully enforce such restrictions.
In a notable escalation, the EU is also going after buyers of Russian energy products beyond its borders. Von der Leyen specified, “We are now going after those who fuel Russia’s war by purchasing oil in breach of the sanctions. We target refineries, oil traders, petrochemical companies in third countries, including China.” While details remain under wraps pending member state approval, South China Morning Post reports that a substantial number of Chinese entities are expected to be blacklisted. This expansion signals Europe’s willingness to confront not just Russia, but also global actors—especially in Asia—who have stepped in to buy Russian oil at discounted prices.
The sanctions package doesn’t stop at energy. It proposes a sweeping ban on Russian banks and other financial institutions, with new measures aimed at closing cryptocurrency loopholes that have allowed some entities to skirt previous restrictions. The EU is also set to blacklist additional companies aiding Russia’s military and is working on novel ways to access or possibly seize nearly $300 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets, immobilized since the early days of the invasion.
The path to implementation, however, is far from smooth. As with previous sanctions rounds, the package must secure the unanimous backing of all 27 EU member states. Hungary and Slovakia, in particular, have a track record of holding up such measures, often citing their dependence on Russian energy and longstanding diplomatic ties with Moscow. Brussels, according to Foreign Policy, is reportedly ready to free up more than 500 million euros earmarked for Hungary to help fast-track approval—a pragmatic if somewhat controversial move.
While the EU’s actions represent a significant tightening of the economic screws, many analysts remain skeptical about the overall impact without robust U.S. participation. The U.S. Senate, for its part, has a tough sanctions bill in hand, but it remains indefinitely stalled at the White House’s request. Trump’s insistence that Europe move first has led to a growing bifurcation between transatlantic approaches, raising questions about the unity and effectiveness of Western pressure on Russia.
Still, the EU’s 19th sanctions package is a clear signal to Moscow, Beijing, and the wider world that Europe is not backing down from its commitment to isolate and penalize those fueling the war in Ukraine. The measures may not be a silver bullet, but they represent the most comprehensive attempt yet to choke off both the direct and indirect financial lifelines sustaining Russia’s military machine. With energy revenues still formidable and global oil markets as complex as ever, the coming weeks will reveal whether the EU can translate these proposals into real-world impact—or whether internal divisions and external resistance will blunt their effect.
For now, the ball is in the court of the EU’s 27 member states. Their decision will determine not only the fate of this latest sanctions package but also the credibility of Europe’s commitment to ending the war in Ukraine through economic means. As the bloc weighs its next steps, the world watches to see whether unity—or inertia—will define the West’s response to one of the most pressing geopolitical crises of the decade.
