The European Union on Friday approved its 18th sanctions package, aimed at increasing pressure on Russia and preventing the financing of its war machine.

One of the main measures is lowering the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $47.60 per barrel. There will also be a review every six months to ensure it remains 15 percent below the average market price.

Estonia threatened to block the package if the cap was not lowered.

"The European Union is deliberately and consistently raising the cost of aggression for Russia. Every euro Russia earns from oil sales helps fund its bloodshed in Ukraine. Our goal is to shut off those financial lifelines," Tsahkna said.

"A price cap of US$47.60 is not merely a technical limit—it is a political blow to Russia's war machine. We are forcing Putin to sell oil below market price so that he feels more acutely what international isolation means," the minister stressed, via a press release. "I call on all democratic nations to join this price cap. It is our moral and strategic obligation."

"Russia must understand that there is no place in the international arena for a country that flagrantly violates international law and attacks sovereign nations," Tsahkna went on. "We will not stop until Russia is fully held accountable, withdraws from Ukraine, and compensates for the destruction it has caused. This is not just a statement — it is a promise."

Today, the EU adopted its 18th sanctions package to increase pressure on Russia: oil price cap lowered to $47,6, additional banks and 100+ ships sanctioned, Nord Stream pipelines restricted.

Our message is clear — aggression has a price, and it will keep rising .

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) July 18, 2025

The EU also introduced an import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil in third countries, added more than 100 additional ships to the list of those banned from entering EU ports and receiving services, bringing to 450 the total number of vessels sanctioned, primarily part of Russia's "shadow fleet," exporting cheap oil.

Tsahkna noted that all goods and services linked to the construction, maintenance, operation, or management of the Nord Stream 1 and unfinished Nord Stream 2 Russian gas pipelines are now prohibited too.

A previous measure disconnecting Russian banks from the X SWIFT was replaced with a full transaction ban with the new sanctions package, and Russian banks have been added to the sanctions list.

Trade restrictions have been imposed on goods and tech Russia uses in its defense industry, and measures against Russia's ally Belarus have also been tightened further.

More individuals and entities have been added to the sanctions list, including the captain of the tanker Jaguar, which had to be escorted out of Estonian waters in May, and companies associated with that vessel.

Sanctions were also imposed on several third-country companies that facilitate the shadow fleet's operations or supply Russia's military industry in other ways.

Work on the next 19th sanctions package from the EU is already underway, Tsahkna noted. "We will not settle for halfway measures. Every new package strengthens our message: Ukraine is not alone, and Russia will not go unpunished," he concluded.

The 18th sanctions package went ahead after holdout Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced a climbdown.

The news comes the same week that U.S. President Donald Trump announced secondary sanctions if Russia does not come to a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days. These secondary sanctions – secondary tariffs really – target those countries which import cheap, and now even cheaper, Russian crude oil, including major economies India and China.

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