On Thursday (16 December), EU leaders decided to inflict additional economic penalties on Russia if it invaded Ukraine.
The EU-27 stated that they would act in concert with the US and the UK and advocated further dialogue with Moscow.
"Any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe cost in response, including restrictive measures coordinated with partners," leaders stated in their final summit statement.
Additionally, leaders stated that the EU "encourages diplomatic efforts and supports the Normandy format in achieving the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements," referring to the 2014-2015 peace agreements reached with Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia.
EU leaders did not specify the particular sanctions they would impose. Member states have been split on whether emphasizing specific measures would operate as deterrence and on the nature of those steps.
Russia faced economic sanctions in 2014 due to its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, with measures targeting Russia's oil, banking, and defense sectors.
New measures might include targeting Russian oligarchs, prohibiting EU banks from transacting with Russian banks, and possibly cutting Russian banks off the SWIFT international money transfer system.
According to Washington, Russia has stockpiled around 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders, presumably in preparation for an invasion. Moscow asserts its right to maneuver its soldiers within its borders and denies any attack.
However, Moscow presented the US with recommendations on Wednesday against Nato's eastward expansion.
According to Reuters, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia was growing, not decreasing, its troops on the border.
According to a Nato statement, the allies "support the right of all countries to decide their own future and foreign policy free from outside interference."
"Unfortunately, we see the concentration, reinforcement of Russian military forces along the Ukrainian border and probably we face the most dangerous situation in the last 30 years," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned before the EU leaders' meeting.
"I am talking not only about Ukraine, but I'm talking about the eastern flank of Nato, about the Baltic region," he added.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the executive has been considering several penalty possibilities since June, and discussion with the US has been ongoing.
"We want to have good relations with Moscow, but the onus is on us to deescalate and make a choice," she added. "In the event of further escalation, we are prepared."
