BRUSSELS, July 23. /TASS/. The European Union has expanded measures against the Russian financial and banking sector as part of its twenty-first sanctions package against Russia, the EU Council said in a statement.

"Today, the EU is significantly expanding action against Russia’s financial and banking sector as a vehicle of Russia’s war economy. The Council is imposing asset freezes and a prohibition to make funds available to 94 banks and major financial institutions, as well as to an important figure in Russia’s banking establishment. It is extending its transaction ban to 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions," the EU Council said.

"Furthermore, it is introducing a transaction ban against a Kyrgyz bank connected with the SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages) ban and three other non-Russian banks for circumventing sanctions," the EU Council added.

"The EU is adding 4 designations related to the cross-border A7 network, including its new links to Africa. It is also extending its transaction ban to 14 crypto-related service platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus," the statement says.

In addition, for the first time, the EU is introducing "the possibility of a full third-country ban for crypto-asset services."

This measure is regarded as "a strong deterrent to countries hosting platforms that help Russia evade EU sanctions."

"This new instrument will enable the EU to ban any transaction between an EU operator and any crypto provider used by Russia," the statement says.