EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas

EU foreign chief plans fresh sanctions against Russia

17 Aug 2026, 00:41 · RTE.ie

The EU intends to significantly expand sanctions against Russia ⁠in the coming months, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.

"EU sanctions have already cost Russia dearly, depriving Russia's war machine of over €1 trillion and for autumn ‌I am ⁠putting forward the most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war," she told German daily newspaper Die Welt.

"Once adopted, they ‌would immediately raise the total number of sanctioned Russian ⁠entities by a third.

"The pressure must keep growing until Moscow ends ⁠its ‌war."

Ms Kallas did not elaborate further on timing or details of the new sanctions package.

In July, the EU approved its most ⁠recent sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, imposing curbs on the country's banking sector and cryptocurrency networks.

Ms Kallas's comments come as 12 people were killed yesterday morning as waves of drones and missiles pummelled civilian infrastructure on both sides.

With fighting at the front at a near standstill and talks frozen, the warring countries have significantly stepped up long-range attacks deep behind each other's lines, pushing the civilian death toll to its highest levels since the war's first months in 2022.