BRUSSELS, February 25. /TASS/. The heads of EU states and governments are discussing the third package of anti-Russian sanctions, to be enacted if the situation in Ukraine does not improve, a source in a European country’s delegation told TASS on the sidelines of the emergency summit in Brussels.

"Practically from the very beginning of the summit, the leaders are in talks on drafting the third package of sanctions," he said.

According to the diplomat, the new package may include disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT system.

"There may be a disconnection from SWIFT, but no final decision has been made so far," he said, adding that some EU members insist on that, while others, such as Germany, oppose the move. "Blacklisting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is a yet another option of the third package. No decision has been made on this issue as well."

When asked when the planned third package may be imposed, the diplomat said: "At the moment, there have been no clear understanding about what can [trigger] the third package. If the situation worsens, or remains unchanged, [it may be put into practice]. We’ll see in the next day or two, probably."

EU member states made the decision to impose a new package of sanctions targeting Russia and Belarus shortly after the emergency EU summit began on Thursday. In a joint statement, leaders said the sanctions would affect Russia’s financial and transport sectors, as well as the Union’s visa policy regarding Russian citizens.

The second package of sanctions is to be formally approved by the European Council on Friday and will come into force after being published by the Official Journal of the European Union.

The first package of sanctions, imposed after Moscow recognized DPR and LPR as independent states, included personal and economic sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning 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 in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.

The Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.