BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Saturday that lifting sanctions on Russian diesel helped fuel the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, after US President Donald Trump announced a deal for Moscow to supply fuel.
"Russian strikes killed over 80 Ukrainian civilians in two days. Moreover, it has stepped up its hybrid attacks against Europe, both EU Member States and NATO allies," Kallas posted online.
"Suspending sanctions on Russian diesel provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war. This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won't," she wrote.
Trump said Friday he had secured Russia's agreement for a major release of diesel, as he eased war sanctions on Moscow in a push to lower energy costs ahead of midterm elections.
The move drew a furious reaction from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the EU pledged to keep on ratcheting up its own measures against Moscow.
EU foreign ministers are set on Monday to formally add some 1,600 new individuals and entities to the EU's sanctions blacklist over the war in Ukraine.
Separately from Kallas, the European Commission in response to Trump's diesel deal called for a truce that covered infrastructure in both Ukraine and Russia.
"We continue to believe that a ceasefire which would protect global food supplies and Energy Infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia is needed," the EU's executive said.
It added: "Europe knows too well the hidden costs linked to over reliance on Russian hydrocarbons, and Europe does not wish to fuel Russia's war against Ukraine."