Will Russia back down from war after further EU and US sanctions?

The European Union's sanctions against Moscow are “actually working against Brussels itself”, Russia’s foreign ministry stated on Thursday, adding that “the possibilities for expanding them have been exhausted”.

The Kremlin continues to deny that the new stricter measures have any impact on Russia’s economy and Moscow’s war strategy in Ukraine, signalling it will not change its invasion stance and won't agree to a ceasefire.

The Russian foreign ministry said even the US sanctions against the country's oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil “will not cause problems for Russia, which has developed a strong immunity to such restrictions”.

“However, they send a counterproductive signal, including from the point of view of the Ukrainian settlement”, spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and ex-prime minister, went further than that, labelling Washington as Moscow's enemy.

“The US is our enemy, and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on a path of war with Russia”, Medvedev said, referring to US President Donald Trump.

“The decisions taken are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has fully aligned himself with crazy Europe.”

Will Russia agree to a ceasefire?

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire," US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on Wednesday, announcing the news of Washington's sanctions, the first ones since Trump’s return to the White House.

"Given President Putin's refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin's war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions."

Professor Donnacha Ó Beacháin, a political scientist at Dublin City University, told Euronews that this will not make Russia back down in its war against Ukraine.

“I don’t believe Putin will back down now or agree to a ceasefire or meaningful negotiations. Why would he," Prof Ó Beacháin asked.

"Over the weekend, Trump summoned President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy to Washington and, following a two-hour phone briefing from Putin, berated the Ukrainian leader, telling him he must concede to Russia’s demands or face the destruction of Ukraine,” he pointed out.

Arriving at the EU summit on Thursday morning in Brussels, Zelensky said Ukraine is not being pressured into territorial concessions and won’t cede any of Russia’s temporarily occupied areas.

“Russia’s backers - most notably China and North Korea - have sustained the Kremlin’s war effort. North Korea has deployed tens of thousands of troops and supplied more ammunition to Russia than the entire EU has provided to Ukraine”, Prof Ó Beacháin said.

Ó Beacháin also told Euronews that Putin will only contemplate a ceasefire or negotiations “when he believes he is at risk of losing territory or power.”

“For (Putin) any agreement will reflect the realities on the battlefield. As long as he perceives even minimal progress he has little incentive to stop," he pointed out, referring to the 0.4% territorial gains in 2025 achieved at immense human cost.

Prof Ó Beacháin said Putin has made it clear that he would only meet Zelenskyy “to formalise a prearranged agreement amounting to Ukraine’s capitulation.”

“There is no evidence that this position has changed," he concluded.