European Union leaders said for the first time that they would impose an oil embargo on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, taking a major step forward in an economic struggle against Moscow that is already affecting global markets.
The embargo would include an exemption for oil delivered from Russia through gas pipelines, an amount that represents a third of EU oil purchases in Russia. EU officials said that by the end of this year, the embargo would cover 90% of previous Russian oil imports. It would be applied gradually over several months.