Germany's efforts to gradually reduce fossil fuel imports from Russia weaken President Vladimir Putin, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday when asked if civilian deaths in Ukraine would prompt Germany to back an energy embargo against Russia.
"We are working every day to create the preconditions and the steps toward an embargo, and this is also, in the opinion of the federal government and also in my view, the right way and one that harms Putin daily," Habeck told a news conference.
British foreign secretary Liz Truss will visit Poland on Monday to call for tougher action to tackle Russian aggression and to support Ukraine in peace talks, her office said in a statement.
"Putin is yet to show he is serious about diplomacy. A tough approach from the UK and our allies is vital to strengthen Ukraine's hand in negotiations," Truss said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that a new round of sanctions targetting Russia were needed and that there were clear indications Russian forces were responsible for the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
"There are very clear clues pointing to war crimes. It is more or less established that the Russian army is responsible (for the Bucha killings)," Macron told France Inter radio.
"What happened in Bucha demands a new round of sanctions and very clear measures," Macron added.
Those new sanctions should target coal and oil, said Macron who faces a re-election battle this month.
Russia on Sunday denied its forces were responsible for the deaths of civilians in the town of Bucha and said Ukraine had staged a performance for the Western media.
Russia's economy is facing the gravest crisis since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union after the United States and its allies imposed crippling sanctions due to Putin's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.