Kaja Kallas Confirms 17th Sanctions Package in Response to Russia’s Aggression

The European Union has started working on the 17th package of sanctions against Russia due to its ongoing military war against Ukraine. The purpose of these sanctions is to put pressure on Russia to stop hostilities.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made this statement after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council convened on 14 April  in Luxembourg: “The only way to get Russia to negotiate seriously is putting some more pressure on Russia.”

She has discussed multiple points in Luxembourg, as follows:

• Member states do not want war, and 27 countries in the EU support a ceasefire. Ukraine is also ready for it, as it endorsed the decision one month ago.

We are witnessing that Russia wants war, as it attacked brutally yesterday. The entire weekend has been marked by airstrikes in Sumy. It is clear that Russia does not want a ceasefire, so it is essential to apply economic pressure on Russia to encourage it to negotiate.

• The second main point of discussion is to assist Ukraine by providing military aid, thereby empowering it to defend its territory.

She said she had trained 73000+ soldiers to strengthen Ukraine’s defensive mechanism. She has mentioned that the EU has discussed further actions it could take to improve its already ongoing mission.

“I’m pleased that we’ve delivered two-thirds of the 2 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, but we still have more to achieve. The majority of Member States agree that we need to make further progress.”

Kaja Kallas,

EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

“The European Union has contributed more than €23 billion to Ukraine. Last year, it was €20 billion, with the help of the United States, totalling €40 billion. So, we still have room to go,” she added.

The third point mentioned by her was an open declaration about working on the 17th package of sanctions.

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16th package of sanctions

With the third year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU approved and implemented its 16th package of sanctions on 24 February 2025.

This package aims to put political and economic pressure on Russia. It targeted Russia’s shadow fleet, imposed sanctions on trade and the financial sector, and targeted Russia’s media channels.

15th package of sanctions adopted in December 2024

The EU approved the 15th package of sanctions against Russia on December 24. Its focus was to stop Russia from bypassing the previous sanctions and weaken the Russian military industry. It prevented a Chinese company from supplying components that could aid Russia in its military operations.

Building on this, as the European Union reported, A 17-package of sanctions will include rules to prevent shadow fleets from circumventing existing sanctions. Other measures should be ready by May, as the Foreign Affairs Council will be held in May.