The European Union is discussing the possibility of disconnecting from the SWIFT system banks VTB, Russia and Otkritie, as well as Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank and VEB.RF, Bloomberg news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a preliminary list.

According to it, the list includes several banks against which sanctions have already been imposed by the Commonwealth. However, it stresses that Sberbank and Gazprombank are not on the list. The draft document, as the agency explains, may still undergo changes amid ongoing discussions between representatives of the EU governments at a meeting in Brussels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbas republics, last Wednesday. He stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories. After that, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, and a number of other states announced that they were imposing sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities.