EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel believes that the conflict in Ukraine will become protracted, so he advocated further sanctions against Russia.

According to him, the Russian economy is already starting to stop and further pressure on Moscow will provide Kiev with a more favorable position at future peace talks. He also recalled that last week the EU foreign ministers had already agreed to allocate additional funds for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine.

Borrell expressed hope that eventually there will be an agreement on a sixth package of sanctions, which EU representatives have been trying unsuccessfully to agree upon for weeks due to the opposition of several countries to an embargo on oil and oil products from Russia.

"We need to decide unanimously. There were tough talks yesterday afternoon, as well as this morning," Borrell told broadcaster France Info on Monday morning, adding: "I think that this afternoon, we will be able to offer to the heads of the member states an agreement."

The head of European diplomacy also drew attention to the need to resolve the issue of export grain from Ukraine as soon as possible. He also said that 20 million tons of grain are stored in Ukraine, they need to be delivered to final consumers. He noted that it is necessary to free up storage facilities for the new crop, otherwise there will be no place to keep it.