EU places 'strongest sanctions yet' on Russia | BBC News

The European Union placed its "strongest sanctions" yet on Russia, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called "essential and timely". The latest EU measures, announced on Friday, included a ban on transactions related to the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline and lowering a cap on the price at which Russian oil can be bought. They come as European allies hope to ratchet up the pressure on Russia to bring the three-year-long war in Ukraine to an end. But former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Putin, said his nation's economy would survive the sanctions and that Moscow will continue striking Ukraine "with increasing force". The EU sanctions are the 18th round of such measures since Russia's full‑scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.