'Act of war': EU, U.S. sanctions on Russia provoke furious response

Sanctions to be levied by the U.S. and EU on Russia have provoked a furious response, with one prominent Moscow politician describing the U.S. decision as an "act of war" while the Foreign Ministry said Europe's "reckless actions" risked a "painful response".

In his latest sharp policy shift, U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia's two biggest oil companies with sanctions and canceled a Budapest summit with President Vladimir Putin. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made clear Washington stood ready to take further action.

Russia's Foreign Ministry called the U.S. sanctions "counterproductive" when it came to finding a peace deal and said its goals in Ukraine remained unchanged.

European leaders gather behind Zelenskyy

Meanwhile, EU leaders are expected at a Thursday meeting to agree to bankroll Ukraine for the next two years, with a plan to use frozen Russian assets as the basis for a $163 billion "reparations loan" to Kyiv. 

Ukraine's leader also received a boost in the form of a new package of EU sanctions against Russia, which the bloc formally approved on Thursday.

The package includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas from January 2027, as well as new measures on the so-called shadow tanker fleet and two independent Chinese oil refineries.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun criticized the sanctions, saying Beijing was "strongly dissatisfied".

"China is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it," he said. "The European side is in no position to make irresponsible remarks about the normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises."

Guo urged Brussels to "stop making an issue out of China", vowing that Beijing "will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests".

Guo also said China "opposes" the new U.S. sanctions, saying they had "no basis in international law".

"China consistently opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorised by the United Nations Security Council," Guo said, reiterating that "dialogue and negotiations are the only feasible way out of the Ukraine crisis".

'Reckless', 'loony' – Russia's response 

Reacting to Trump's latest policy shift, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday it was now absolutely clear that the U.S. was Russia's adversary.

"The United States is our adversary, and their talkative 'peacemaker' has now fully embarked on the warpath with Russia," Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, wrote on Telegram, referring to Trump.

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

Medvedev said that the move of the "Trumpian pendulum" simply meant that Russia could now hammer Ukraine with a wide variety of weapons "without regard to unnecessary negotiations."

Russia's foreign ministry said that Moscow's aims in Ukraine remained unchanged from 2022: that Ukraine should be neutral, non-aligned, demilitarized and ensure the rights of Russian speakers and Orthodox believers.

"We need a configuration of negotiated solutions that will eliminate the root causes of the conflict and ensure reliable peace in the context of building a Eurasian and broader global system of indivisible security," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

She cast U.S. sanctions as extremely counterproductive and warned that if the Trump administration followed the example of previous US administrations then it would fail.

Zakharova also said Russia will deliver a "painful response" to any EU move to seize its frozen assets.

"Any actions with Russian assets without Russia's consent are null and void from the standpoint of international and contract law," Zakharova told reporters. "There is no legal way to take someone else's funds without hurting the pockets and prestige of those who expropriate them.

"Any confiscatory initiatives from Brussels will inevitably result in a painful response. We will act in full compliance with the principle of reciprocity in international relations, based on our own interests and the need to compensate for the damage caused to Russia."

Under the EU plan, the Russian assets would not be confiscated, as Russia would retain its claim on the money held in Belgian securities depository Euroclear.

But Zakharova said the scheme showed that Europe was "no longer a safe haven for financial assets".

She added: "Trusting Western Europeans, including Euroclear, with your funds now risks their complete loss. We urge you to think twice before taking reckless actions."