France said on Monday that leaders at a meeting on Ukraine this weekend had asked the European Commission to put together new "massive" sanctions targeting Russia's oil and financial sector if Russia failed to agree a ceasefire.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed the approval of the 17th package of sanctions against Russia, which targets, among other things, the shadow fleet of oil tankers used by Moscow to circumvent existing restrictions.

European Union countries are reportedly in preliminary agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia. "However, this is a very weak package," diplomats unofficially admit, stating that EU countries have reached the limit of their ability to adopt more extensive economic sanctions.