Xinhua News Agency, October 23 (Reporter Chen Binjie, Ding Yinghua) European Commission President von der Leyen said on social media on the 23rd that EU member states have approved the 19th round of sanctions against Russia, and the EU will continue to exert high pressure on Russia.

Von der Leyen said that this round of sanctions is the first time that the EU has hit the Russian natural gas industry, which is one of the core pillars of its economy.

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said on social media on the 23rd that the new round of EU sanctions will take further restrictive measures against Russia's oil and gas industry, and the sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe will have an important impact on the Russian economy.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Karas said the 19th round of sanctions against Russia would not be the last round, and the EU should start working on the next round of sanctions against Russia.

According to a communiqué issued by the European Council on the same day, the 19th round of EU sanctions against Russia includes additional 69 separate sanctions and a number of economic restrictions, mainly targeting the Russian energy, financial and military sectors. The EU will ban Russian LNG from entering the European market, and Russian oil companies and Russian gas industry oil companies will face a comprehensive ban on transactions. The EU will extend the ban on transactions against Russian financial institutions and include cryptocurrency platforms in the sanctions for the first time.