EU member states on Thursday signed off on a fresh package of sanctions against Russia targeting its lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector for the first time, officials said. The new measures — which should be formally adopted on Monday — are aimed at further choking off Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine. "This hard-hitting package will further deny Russia access to key technologies," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "It will strip Russia of further energy revenues and tackle Putin's shadow fleet and shadow banking network abroad." Diplomats said the latest sanctions — the 14th round imposed on Moscow by the EU since the 2022 invasion — include a ban on the transshipment of Russian LNG via Europe. They do not include a prohibition on the purchase of Russian LNG by EU countries.