The European Union has agreed on a fifth package of sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked war against Ukraine, including measures banning the import of coal and closing off EU ports from Russian vessels.
"Together with the four previous packages, these sanctions will further contribute to ramping up economic pressure on the Kremlin and cripple its ability to finance its invasion of Ukraine," the bloc said in a statement on April 8.
"These measures are broader and sharper, so that they cut even deeper into the Russian economy. They have been coordinated with international partners," it added, noting that work on further sanctions against Moscow is already under way.
SEE ALSO: At Least 52 Dead In Russian Rocket Attack On Ukrainian Rail StationThe newly adopted sanctions target six main themes: Russian coal, financial transactions, transport, imports and exports to Russia, and excluding Russia from public contracts and European funds.
Meanwhile, an update to Britain's sanctions list announced asset freezes on Putin's adult daughters Yekaterina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, as well as Yekaterina Vinokurova, the daughter of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. All three were placed under sanctions by the United States earlier this week.
SEE ALSO: West Adds Heft To Sanctions Against Russia In Wake Of Civilian Deaths Outside Kyiv"Our unprecedented package of sanctions is hitting the elite and their families, while degrading the Russian economy on a scale Russia hasn’t seen since the fall of the Soviet Union," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.
Britain also said its analysis showed Russia is heading for the deepest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Britain estimates that 60 percent of Russian foreign-currency reserves have been frozen as a result of international sanctions.
The United States and its European allies have been slapping sanctions on Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, to isolate Moscow economically, financially, and diplomatically.
The latest sanctions come as evidence of atrocities committed by Russian troops continues to pile up.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN Security Council on April 5 that Russian troops had committed some of the worst "war crimes" since World War II and urged the council to hold them accountable.
SEE ALSO: Chernihiv Rises From Rubble Left By Russian ArmyThat led to the United Nations General Assembly voting on April 7 to suspend Russia from the UN's Human Rights Council, only the second time ever such a move has been taken.
Much of the focus has been on Bucha, a town near Kyiv where Russian forces were positioned until their withdrawal late last week. People there said they witnessed brutal killings and torture, and evidence has emerged of mass graves and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
On April 8, Russian rockets struck a train station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 30 people and wounding more than 100.
Ukrainian leaders have predicted more gruesome discoveries would be made in reclaimed cities and towns after retreating Russian forces left behind crushed buildings and streets strewn with destroyed cars and the corpses of civilians.