EU agrees to Russian oil embargo

European Union leaders agreed to ban imports of Russian crude oil fully by the end of 2022, but Hungary and two other landlocked Central European countries have obtained exemptions for pipeline imports on which it depends.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that "the sanctions have one clear goal, which is to push Russia to end this war, withdraw its forces and agree to a reasonable and just peace with Ukraine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that as soon as the sixth round begins, "we will immediately begin preparations for the seventh," and predicted that the ban would strip Russia of tens of billions of euros.