MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. The European Union is considering an option to disconnect seven Russian banks (VTB, Rossiya, Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank, VEB.RF) from the SWIFT messaging system, Bloomberg reported this on Tuesday, citing a preliminary list.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. After that the U.S., the EU, the UK and a number of other states announced that they would impose sanctions against Russian legal entities and individuals.

On February 26, the EU Council decided to restrict the access of the Russian government, the Central Bank, Alfa-Bank, Otkritie FC Bank, Rossiya Bank, Promsvyazbank and other financial institutions to the European capital market from April 12 due to the Russian military special operation in Ukraine.