EU vows tougher sanctions on Russia with US

The EU will step up economic pressure on Moscow in coordination with the US to push Russia toward ending its war in Ukraine, European Council President Antonio Costa said Friday.

"The work has already started in Brussels on the new sanctions package, and a European team is travelling to Washington, DC to work with our American friends," Costa told reporters after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod.

"More economic measures to push Russia to stop this war, to stop killing people, to stop destroying Ukraine," he added.

Costa underlined that EU member states and the "coalition of the willing" support US President Donald Trump's proposal to open peace negotiations.

"We are preparing security guarantees to ensure a just and lasting peace when peace comes. And we are fully committed to providing strong security guarantees to help preventing future attacks," he said.

Reaffirming the EU's long-term commitment to Kyiv, Costa said Ukraine's accession to the bloc remains a strategic goal.

"Ukraine's European Union full membership is not only the best security guarantees, it is also the most effective path for prosperity and for the best future for Ukrainian people," he said.

Costa also highlighted his visit to western Ukraine as symbolic, saying: "This region will be not anymore in the borders of the European Union, but it is a part of the European Union, because Ukraine will be a member, a full membership of the European Union."