The EU has assured Ukraine that it will not ease sanctions against Russia
On October 16, European Union leaders assured the President of Ukraine of their unwavering support and emphasized that they would not lift sanctions against Russia. The EU stressed that the restrictions will remain in place until Moscow completely ends the war.
What did the EU say about its support for Ukraine?
The statements by EU leaders came amid recent decisions by the U.S. administration regarding a possible easing of sanctions pressure on Russia and restrictions on further aid to Ukraine. In particular, the President of the European Commission categorically rejected the possibility of using the so-called “diesel deal” as a pretext for concessions to the aggressor.
“Of course, we supported the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump. But we can see that Russia has not adhered to it for a single minute. Instead, Russia has escalated the conflict,” explained Ursula von der Leyen.
The head of the European Commission emphasized that Moscow’s current actions demand an exceptionally firm and uncompromising response from the international community. In particular, this means intensifying sanctions pressure.
European Council President António Costa shares a similar position, having completely ruled out the possibility of easing economic or political pressure on Moscow.
Our message is very simple: the EU’s support is stronger now than ever. This is not the time to withdraw any support for Ukraine, nor is it the time to ease sanctions against Russia. On the contrary, now is the time to step up support and intensify pressure to force Russia to agree to a genuine ceasefire,” Costa stated.
The bloc’s leadership concluded that any review of the restrictions is possible only on the condition of a complete cessation of hostilities by the aggressor country.
Moscow is ignoring all peace initiatives
The U.S. plans to ease sanctions against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” have sparked a serious wave of criticism, even among American lawmakers. In particular, 12 senators sent a letter to Donald Trump in which they explicitly called the agreements with Vladimir Putin “a betrayal of the Ukrainian people.”
According to a “European Truth” correspondent in Brussels, these comments were made ahead of the European Council meeting on Friday, October 16.
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