While the European Union and Britain today presented new large-scale sanctions packages against Russia, US President Donald Trump did not confirm whether Washington would join with similar measures. Asked by journalists in Washington about possible new US sanctions, Trump said laconically: "We're considering a lot of things, but we'll see", reported "Reuters".
For their part, Britain and the European Union are already taking concrete action. Britain has imposed sanctions on over 100 entities and individuals, including members of the so-called "Social Design Agency" — a structure considered by Western services to be one of the main instruments of Russian hybrid warfare. The sanctions also hit 46 financial institutions, the St. Petersburg Foreign Exchange, the state corporation "Deposit Insurance Agency", as well as 18 ships from Russia's "shadow fleet" for oil transportation.
The European Union, for its part, approved the so-called 17th package of sanctions, which includes approximately 200 ships from the same shadow fleet. The information was confirmed by the head of the EU's foreign policy service, Kaia Kallas, in a post on the social network X.
Both Brussels and London point out that the sanctions are a response to the increased Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities over the past weekend — the largest so far in the course of the war. In a statement, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called on Vladimir Putin to accept a "full and unconditional ceasefire" to pave the way for a just and lasting peace.
"Slowing down peace efforts will only strengthen our determination to support Ukraine and use sanctions to constrain Putin's war machine," Lammy stressed.