EU Extends Economic Sanctions Against Russia

EU leaders extended punishing economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine for another six months on Thursday, amid heightened tensions over the Azov Sea clash.

The EU first imposed the measures in July 2014 after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people, an attack blamed by the West on pro-Russian rebels.

"EU unanimously prolongs economic sanctions against Russia given zero progress in implementation of Minsk agreements," EU President Donald Tusk tweeted from a summit in Brussels.