Brussels, Belgium - July 2, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of EU flags, Berlaymont building (headquarters of European Commission)

Brussels, Belgium - July 13, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of Berlaymont building, sign, entrance
3. Various of Justus Lipsius building, sign

FILE: Brussels, Belgium - March 21, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of EU flags, Justus Lipsius building

FILE: Moscow, Russia - March 20-21, 2023 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Kremlin, river, traffic

FILE: Moscow, Russia - June 24, 2023 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Kremlin, traffic

FILE: Moscow, Russia - March 2023 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of river, buildings in Kremlin

FILE: Moscow, Russia - April 20, 2022 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Bridge, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
9. Traffic on bridge

The European Union (EU) approved a new round of sanctions against Russia on Friday, after which Russia said that it is not ruling out countermeasures following an analysis of the bloc's 18th sanctions package.

After the approval, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas called the latest round "one of the bloc's strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date" in a post on the social media platform X.

The package contains a provision to lower the price cap on Russian oil sold to third countries by 15 percent below the market rate. Initially set at 60 U.S. dollars per barrel by the G7 in 2022, the cap under this new EU scheme will launch at 47.6 dollars, with the flexibility to adjust in line with future oil price movements.

As part of the package, measures are also included to ensure that the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea cannot be reactivated.

Also, Kallas said the EU will impose sanctions on a Russian-owned oil refinery in India and blacklist more than 100 additional vessels from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," believed to be circumventing EU sanctions by carrying mainly Russian oil.

In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Friday that Russia is not ruling out countermeasures following an analysis of the EU's 18th sanctions package.

"Certainly, we will analyze their impact on our economy. We will take measures to safeguard our interests if necessary. And some countermeasures are also possible," the senior diplomat told TASS news agency.