The European Commission has unveiled a fresh round of sanctions on Russia just as the country intensifies its barrage of drones and missiles against Ukraine, hitting the bloc's own delegation, and Vladimir Putin ignores calls to sit at the negotiating table. The proposal, presented on Friday by President Ursula von der Leyen, targets banks, 118 vessels from the "shadow fleet" and, for the first time, the cryptocurrency platforms that Moscow uses to launder transactions in the global financial market. If approved by member states, it will mark the 19th package of sanctions since February 2022. Discussions among ... (full story)