The U.K. and the European Union (EU) both announced fresh sanctions on Russia as they seek to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his ongoing war against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump hailed his “excellent” call with Putin on Monday and said Russia and Ukraine will hold further peace talks immediately. He did not announce any additional measures to pressure Russia into making peace.
European allies want the U.S. to tighten the screw on Putin and Russia, and strengthen Ukraine’s position as the two sides engage in peace negotiations.
They fear Trump is too soft on Putin and Russia will walk away with more than it deserves, rewarded for its invasion of Ukraine. But Trump sees compromise and engagement with Russia as the only path to ending the brutal and expensive war.
The British Foreign Office said Tuesday it has added 100 new sanctions on Russia targeting entities that support its “military machine, energy exports and information war, as well as financial institutions helping to fund Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said the 27-member bloc had approved its 17th sanctions package against Russia “targeting nearly 200 shadow fleet ships.”
Russia’s “shadow fleet” are vessels it uses to covertly flout Western sanctions.
“New measures also address hybrid threats and human rights. More sanctions on Russia are in the works. The longer Russia wages war, the tougher our response,” Kallas posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning.
Trump had touted stronger sanctions on Russia if he felt it was not doing enough to move towards peace in Ukraine. But he gave a positive readout of his call with Putin on Monday evening, which lasted two hours.
“I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform.
“The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.
“The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.”
After his call with Putin, Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
This is a developing article and more information will be added soon.
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