The European Union (EU) agreed on Friday to a new package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, the 18th, which includes a reduction in the maximum price of Russian oil and increases pressure on the so-called ghost fleet through which Russia exports oil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski, who celebrated the EU's ability to buy Russian oil at the new cap of $46 per barrel, replacing the current $60, sees it as a good time to give "more momentum" to negotiations with Russia, with the EU and the US standing firm in support of Ukraine and distancing themselves from Vladimir Putin.
This cap on the barrel is an initiative of the G-7 aimed at limiting the money Russia earns from oil exports. "We are attacking the heart of Russia's war machinery," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"The EU has just approved one of the toughest sanction packages against Russia," celebrated EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas, after Slovakia withdrew its veto.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán rejected the EU's budget plan for 2028-2034 as "pro-Ukraine," warning it would lead the bloc to ruin.
Russian air defenses destroyed 73 Ukrainian drones overnight, including three heading to Moscow. The operations at two airports near Moscow, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, were briefly suspended, while a third airport, Vnukovo, was halted much later into the night before being resumed in the morning.