EU, Britain Set New Sanctions on Russia Without Waiting for Trump

Measures aimed at cracking down on shipping fleet that Russia uses to export oil

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BRUSSELS/LONDON — The European Union and Britain announced new sanctions against Russia on May 20 without waiting for the United States to join them, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin without winning a promise for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

London and Brussels said their new measures would zero in on Moscow's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and financial companies that have helped it avoid the impact of other sanctions imposed over the war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram: "Sanctions matter, and I am grateful to everyone who makes them more tangible for the perpetrators of the war."

But the new measures were announced without corresponding steps from Washington, despite intense public lobbying from leaders of European countries for the Trump administration to join them.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels: "We have repeatedly made it clear that we expect one thing from Russia — an immediate ceasefire without preconditions."

As Russia had not accepted a ceasefire, "we will have to react," he said.

"We also expect our U.S. allies not to tolerate this."