The European Union has approved a new package of sanctions against Russia over its ongoing war in Ukraine. The sanctions include a lower oil price cap, a ban on transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines, and the targeting of more shadow fleet ships. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the move amounts to “one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date” linked to the war.
“The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war,” Kallas said in a statement. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko welcomed the EU’s agreement on an 18th sanctions package against Russia, saying it “strengthens the pressure where it counts.”
The European Commission had proposed to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45, which is lower than the market price, to target Russia’s vast energy revenues. The EU had hoped to get major international powers in the Group of Seven countries involved in the price cap to broaden the effect. Oil is Russia’s main source of income, allowing President Vladimir Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for people and avoiding a currency collapse.
The EU has also targeted the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany to prevent Putin from generating any revenue from them in the future. Russian energy giant Rosneft’s refinery in India was hit, as well. The pipelines were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany but are not in operation. They were targeted by sabotage in 2022, but the source of the underwater explosions has remained a major international mystery.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has built up an immunity to Western sanctions and adapted to them. Peskov also called the sanctions illegal, saying every new restriction creates negative consequences for those countries that back them. The move comes as European countries start to buy United States weapons for Ukraine to help the country better defend itself.
US President Donald Trump announced the deal to supply more weapons to Ukraine and threatened earlier this week to impose steep tariffs on Russia unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. The European Commission’s move is seen as a significant step up in the EU’s efforts to weaken Russia’s economy and limit its ability to wage war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that he spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and added he also welcomed the adoption of the sanctions. “The Russian attacks must stop immediately,” he wrote in a post on social media platform X. “France is and remains at Ukraine’s side.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the bloc is “keeping up the pressure on Russia” following the announcement.
“It’s good that we in the EU have now agreed on the 18th sanctions package against Russia,” Merz wrote on X. “It targets banks, energy and the military industry. This weakens Russia’s ability to continue financing the war against Ukraine,” he added.
The EU has slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. But each round of sanctions is getting harder to agree on, as measures targeting Russia bite the economies of the 27 member nations. Slovakia held up the latest package over concerns about proposals to stop Russian gas supplies, which it relies on.
The EU’s new sanctions package against Russia marks a significant escalation in the West’s efforts to weaken Russia’s economy and limit its ability to wage war in Ukraine. The move is seen as a response to Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine and its refusal to engage in meaningful diplomacy. As the conflict continues, the international community remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact and the potential for further escalation.