European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that Russia had failed to respect the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, calling for increased pressure on Moscow.
“Of course, we supported President Trump’s energy ceasefire, but we have seen that Russia did not respect it—not for a single minute. Instead, Russia escalated the situation, and therefore we must increase the pressure on Russia,” von der Leyen told reporters ahead of the second day of an EU summit in Brussels.
On Sunday, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate ceasefire on attacks targeting each other’s energy infrastructure. However, the announcement was not accompanied by a clearly confirmed agreement from both sides, and attacks continued.
Von der Leyen said the EU was working on its 22nd package of sanctions against Russia, stressing that the bloc would not lift any sanctions unless Moscow ended the war.
She added that EU leaders would discuss Ukraine’s preparations for winter, as well as the country’s financial, budgetary and military needs for 2026 and 2027, Euronews reported.
European Council President António Costa also reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to Ukraine, insisting that the bloc’s support remained “as strong as ever.”
“This is not the time to withdraw our support for Ukraine. This is not the time to ease sanctions on Russia. Now is the time to increase our support and increase the pressure,” Costa said.
“This is essential to convince Russia to accept a genuine ceasefire, bring Russia to the negotiating table and put an end to this war,” he added.
