The European Union is preparing a major expansion of sanctions against Russia, with Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, saying she will propose in the fall what could become the bloc’s most extensive round of designations since the war in Ukraine began. Kallas told Die Welt that existing EU sanctions have stripped more than €1 trillion ($1.16 trillion) from Russia’s war-fighting capacity and said the new listings would immediately raise the total number of sanctioned Russian entities by one-third if adopted. She did not give a timetable or details of the package. The move would follow the EU’s 21st sanctions package approved in July, which targeted Russia’s banking sector and cryptocurrency networks. Any new package would need unanimous backing from all 27 EU member states, and it remains unclear whether tighter sanctions would help force an end to the war.