Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reaffirmed his refusal to make any territorial concessions to Russia, ahead of a European Council meeting scheduled for Thursday in Brussels.
“No territorial concessions,” insisted Zelensky, who is also scheduled to attend the meeting. He regularly repeats that ceding any part of Ukrainian territory to Moscow is out of the question.
The Ukrainian leader said a ceasefire remains “possible,” while stressing the need to increase pressure on Russia and welcoming the latest package of sanctions adopted by the European Union against Moscow.
“The US sanctions are also very important, and it is a good signal to other countries to join these measures,” he added.
Zelensky’s statement comes after the United States imposed new sanctions on Wednesday on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, criticizing Moscow for its “lack of serious engagement” in a peace process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the measures targeted Russia’s energy sector in order to “reduce the Kremlin’s ability to generate revenue for its war machine” and “prop up its weakened economy.”
The European Union has also adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, announced on Thursday.
“We have just adopted our 19th sanctions package. It targets Russian banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as entities located in India and China, among others,” Kallas wrote in a message posted on the social media platform of US-based X Company.
