EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that the European Union welcomed an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, provided both sides respected it, but added that Moscow currently shows no indication that it would comply.
Speaking on arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Kallas said the ceasefire should protect not only energy infrastructure but also human lives. She stressed that safeguarding energy supplies was particularly important ahead of the approaching winter.
Kallas warned that the agreement should not be limited to oil refineries. Ukraine has only one such facility, while Russia operates numerous refineries, meaning restrictions confined to these sites would primarily benefit Moscow.
Commenting on a reported diesel agreement between the Russian and US presidents, Kallas said the EU would maintain its existing policy and adopt another 1,600 sanctions listings.
‘We must not forget that Russia started this war, and we must put pressure on it to stop. If Moscow ceases its attacks, Ukraine will no longer need additional self-defence measures. That is essentially what is at stake,’ she said.
Kallas explained that member states, intelligence assessments, and open-source information identified individuals and companies targeted by the new sanctions. The evidence undergoes separate verification and authentication procedures, and sanctions are proposed only when sufficient supporting evidence is available.
‘This time, we have focused primarily on the Russian military-industrial complex,’ Kallas said, adding that the measures would also target companies that manufacture or supply components used in Russian missiles and drones.
The sanctions list will also include individuals who participated as candidates or organizers in elections held in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
On the effectiveness of the measures, Kallas said previous sanctions had deprived Russia of about €1 trillion in resources it could otherwise have used to finance the war. Measures targeting Russia’s shadow fleet had also significantly complicated Moscow’s efforts to fund its military campaign, she added.
Kallas acknowledged that Russia continued to seek new ways to circumvent the restrictions but said the EU responded faster to such efforts. She argued that the sanctions would be more effective if the United States fully coordinated its measures with the EU and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the bloc’s enlargement process was gaining momentum but stressed that membership should be reserved for countries strategically aligned with the EU and capable of strengthening its security.
Following a decision by member states on Sunday, Kos said intergovernmental conferences with Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine were expected in the coming days.
She added that accession required alignment not only with the EU’s common foreign and security policy but also with its sanctions, energy and infrastructure policies, as well as its rule-of-law standards.
Kos praised Ukraine’s reform efforts, noting that the country continued to meet EU accession requirements despite the war and its struggle for survival.
‘I hope this country will continue to receive broad international support. It is achieving extraordinary results. There is no other country that is accomplishing so much,’ she said.
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