Britain and the European Union announced fresh sanctions against Russia on May 20.
London and Brussels made the move without waiting for Washington to join them, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Britain said the sanctions against 100 new targets follow Russian drone attacks against Ukrainian cities during the May 16–17 weekend.
The new measures target supply chains for Russian weapons systems including Iskander missiles, Kremlin-funded information operations, and financial institutions that help Russia evade sanctions, Britain said.
Britain also imposed new sanctions on the Russian disinformation group Social Design Agency, 46 financial institutions aiding sanctions evasion, and 18 vessels in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which is allegedly used to bypass oil export restrictions.
Individuals linked to the fleet, including a British national and two Russian captains, were also targeted. Britain said it is also working with partners to lower the $60-per-barrel oil price cap that limits the price Russia can charge for its oil when transported using insurance, shipping, and other services provided by major industrial countries.
Shortly afterward, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU had approved sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet, as well as 17 individuals and 58 entities “responsible for actions undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”
Kallas said the latest round of sanctions on Russia is “the most wide-sweeping since the start of the war, together with new hybrid, human rights, and chemical weapons-related sanctions,” adding that more sanctions could be in the pipeline.
“In this 17th package, we include Surgutneftegas—a Russian oil giant—as well as almost 200 vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet,” Kallas said.
“While Putin feigns interest in peace, more sanctions are in the works. Russia’s actions and those who enable Russia face severe consequences. The longer Russia persists with its illegal and brutal war, the tougher our response will be.”
The measures were announced without corresponding steps from Washington, despite intense public lobbying from leaders of European countries for the Trump administration to join them.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Poland jointly traveled to Kyiv earlier this month and said they had prepared new penalties against the regime in Moscow.
Europe’s leaders then phoned Trump the night before his call with his Russian counterpart to urge Washington to join them in enforcing the harsher measures.
The first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years were held at the end of last week, but a cease-fire agreement has not been reached.
Ukraine has said it is ready for the immediate cease-fire Trump has proposed, while Russia has said it wishes to conduct talks before halting hostilities.
“We urge him to agree a full, unconditional ceasefire right away so there can be talks on a just and lasting peace,” Lammy said. “We have been clear that delaying peace efforts will only redouble our resolve to help Ukraine to defend itself and use our sanctions to restrict Putin’s war machine.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Putin is “playing for time.”
“Unfortunately, we have to say Putin is not really interested in peace,” Pistorius said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for “sanctions that are truly dissuasive.”
“Let us push Vladimir Putin to put an end to his imperialist fantasy,” he said.
Kallas stressed that action was still needed from Washington.
“We all agreed and said ... that if they don’t agree to unconditional ceasefire, like Ukraine has agreed over 60 days ago, there will be strong action,” she said. “And that is what we want to see from all the parties who have said that they will act in accordance.”
Responding to the new sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a press briefing, “Everybody over there should remember ... that Russia never responds to any ultimatums.”
In the post, Trump indicated that he had also spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders immediately after he wrapped up his call with Putin.
Trump said he informed Zelenskyy and the other European leaders that negotiations would begin immediately.
In a press statement carried by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency following his call with Trump, Putin said, “Russia is ready and will continue to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a potential future peace treaty outlining a number of positions, such as settlement principles, the timeframe for signing a potential peace agreement, and so on, including a potential ceasefire for a certain period in case relevant agreements are reached.”
“Ukraine has always been ready for peace,” Zelenskyy said.
