EUROPEAN UNION ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to hit Russia with a new package of sanctions to target individuals and businesses suspected of assisting Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

The decision comes just ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24 2022, and days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Belgium, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc, said the “package is one of the broadest approved by the EU.”

Diplomats said several Chinese companies are set to be sanctioned on suspicion of providing help to Russia.

The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, though these have done little obvious damage to the Russian economy, which has kept growing, while hitting EU-based industry hard through rising energy costs.

The new sanctions will further enhance trade restrictions against entities linked to the Russian military-industrial complex, diplomats said. 

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: “We must keep degrading Putin’s war machine..”