Russia accuses EU of working ‘against a peaceful settlement’ of Ukraine crisis

Russia has taken umbrage at the latest round of sanctions imposed against it by the EU as it accused the member states of choosing against acting “a peaceful settlement”.

Some of Russia’s best-known companies, including arms-maker Kalashnikov and energy firms Rosneft and Gazprom have been targeted from the latest EU sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

“By taking this step, the European Union has made its choice against a peaceful settlement of the internal crisis in Ukraine, which all responsible forces in Europe should have supported instead,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry insisted that the European Council and the heads of states and government “need to give a clear answer to their citizens as to why they are putting them under the risk of confrontation, economic stagnation and unemployment”.

“Give the people a chance for peace,” the statement by the Russian ministry concluded.

Last week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire that remains in place despite repeated violations. As part of the agreement, on Friday the Ukrainian government and rebel forces exchanged dozens of prisoners captured during fighting.

The latest sanctions are designed to keep up pressure on Russia, which denies sending