--- title: "\"We will not lift any sanctions\": EU leaders announce increased pressure on Russia despite US decisions" description: "European Commission and European Council Presidents Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa assured that the EU will not ease sanctions against Russia and will increase pressure amid US decisions to limit support for Kyiv." date: 2026-10-16T09:53:09.507Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/eu-will-not-ease-sanctions-against-russia tags: [eu-sanctions, russia, ukraine, von-der-leyen, european-council] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # "We will not lift any sanctions": EU leaders announce increased pressure on Russia despite US decisions ![António Costa, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Ursula von der Leyen at a meeting in Brussels](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/16/es-ne-oslabit-sanktsii-protiv-rossii/es-ne-oslabit-sanktsii-protiv-rossii-1.webp) ## Key Points - The EU stated it will neither lift nor ease sanctions against Russia. - Von der Leyen noted that Russia did not adhere to the announced energy truce and escalated the situation. - Costa stated that EU support for Ukraine is stronger than ever and now is the time to increase pressure. - The European Union recently adopted a record expansion of the sanctions list — nearly 1,600 new items. Ahead of the European Council meeting, EU leaders publicly assured that the sanctions regime against Russia will under no circumstances be eased. According to RBK-Ukraine, this was stated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. Their statements came against the background of US President Donald Trump's decisions to ease sanctions pressure on Moscow and restrict aid to Ukraine, making Brussels' stance particularly prominent. ### Brussels' position ahead of the council meeting António Costa emphasized that the European Union's signal is "very simple": support for Ukraine is stronger now than ever, and "now is not the time to withdraw any support for Ukraine, now is not the time to ease sanctions against the Russian Federation." According to him, on the contrary, "it is time to increase support and increase pressure to force Russia into a real truce." Concluding his thought, the European Council President added: "Let me be crystal clear: we will not lift any sanctions." ### Reaction to Washington's actions The European leaders' statements were made in the context of US administration steps aimed at mitigating sanctions pressure and reducing support for Kyiv. Under these conditions, Brussels effectively distanced itself from the American line, declaring its own, tougher trajectory. Thus, the EU indicated that its sanctions policy will not be tied to Washington's decisions and will be determined by the assessment of Russia's actions on the battlefield. ### "Energy truce" and escalation Ursula von der Leyen noted that the European Union supported the "energy truce" announced by President Trump. At the same time, according to her, "Russia did not adhere to it for a single minute" and "escalated." It is precisely this logic — the violation of the announced truce and the rise of aggression — that the European Commission President called the basis for "increasing pressure on Russia" rather than easing it. ### Record expansion of the sanctions list The context for the statements was the EU's recent decision, which adopted the largest expansion of the sanctions list against Russia since the beginning of the war — nearly 1,600 new items. This step confirms Brussels' course toward deepening restrictive measures rather than revising them. The combination of von der Leyen's and Costa's statements ahead of the European Council meeting thus records a unified course: sanctions remain in full force, and pressure on Moscow is mounting. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [В ЕС заверили, что не ослабят санкции против России](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/es-zapevnili-shcho-poslablyat-sanktsiyi-proti-1792140857.html) - Primary source: statements by von der Leyen and Costa before the European Council meeting, quotes, and context about 1,600 new sanctions items. - [В ЕС в ответ на действия Трампа заявили, что не ослабят санкции против РФ](https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2026/10/16/8058300/) - Confirms the fact of public assurances by EU leaders regarding the preservation of sanctions before the council meeting. - [США ввели санкции против российской платежной системы А7](https://expert.ru/news/ssha-vveli-sanktsii-protiv-rossiyskoy-platezhnoy-sistemy-a7) - Подтверждено по источнику expert.ru - [Песков выступил с заявлением после того, как Трамп подписал "адские санкции" против России](https://www.unian.net/world/sankcii-protiv-rossii-peskov-vyskazalsya-o-novyh-ogranicheniyah-so-storony-ssha-13505748.html) - Подтверждено по источнику unian.net ## FAQ ### Who stated that the EU will not ease sanctions against Russia? The statements were made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa ahead of the European Council meeting. ### Why, according to EU leaders, must pressure on Russia be increased? Von der Leyen pointed out that Russia did not adhere to the announced energy truce and escalated, so pressure must be stepped up. ### What expansion of the sanctions list did the European Union recently adopt? The EU adopted the largest expansion of the sanctions list against Russia since the war began — nearly 1,600 new items.