Major Russian banks will be kicked off the SWIFT financial communications network and Russia’s Central Bank’s assets will be “paralyzed”, the EU has announced.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen outlined an unprecedented package of “massive” sanctions as part of the 27-member bloc"s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s financial institutions that have been sanctioned in recent days, including Russia’s largest banks, will be ejected from the SWIFT network, thwarting their ability to conduct transactions internationally, von der Leyen said in a late-night press conference in Brussels.

She said the bloc would also “paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank”.

“This will freeze its transactions and make it impossible for the Central Bank to liquidate its assets”.