On Thursday, the European Union will continue to impose more sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Putin’s actions are responsible for the return of war to Europe. “In these dire hours, Europe stands with Ukraine and its citizens. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said early Thursday.

She added that “What we have is an unprecedented act by aggression of the Russian leadership towards a sovereign, independently-governed country.”

Russia is not only targeting Donbass. It is also not targeting Ukraine. Russia is aiming at stability in Europe, and the entire international rules-based order. We will be holding Russia responsible.”

On Thursday, at 8 pm local time the EU’s 27 Heads of State will convene in Brussels to discuss an emergency. Von der Leyen will then present a set of new sanctions on Moscow.

By blocking access to important technologies and markets, these will be targeted at strategic areas of the Russian economy. Von der Leyen said that they will “weaken Russia’s economic foundation and capacity to modernize”, and “freeze Russian assets within the EU and prevent access to European banks and financial markets by Russian banks.”

Charles Michel (President of European Council) stated earlier that these heads would be adopting them “swiftly” on Thursday morning.

After an earlier week’s initial set of measures, Thursday’s decision to put more pressure on Russia is a result. It included sanctions against Russia’s Defense Ministry as well as the chief of staff for Putin.