New EU sanctions must strike Putin’s military budget — Ukrainian FM

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced this after meeting with the new head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas.

According to him, during the talks, the parties discussed the EU’s next steps aimed at increasing economic pressure on the Kremlin.

“We expect them to be really strong and hurt Putin’s war budget,” Sybiha said.

The diplomat also emphasized Ukraine’s European integration aspirations. He reminded that Kyiv has met all the requirements to open the first negotiating cluster on EU membership and called unacceptable the situation when one of the bloc’s countries is slowing down this process.

The minister also thanked the European Union for its long-term support, especially in the security and defense sectors, and expressed gratitude to Kaja Kallas for her active role in advancing these decisions.

• The European Union plans to approve the 18th package of sanctions against Russia by the end of this week. Meanwhile, the price cap on Russian oil remains on the agenda.