"There's a solution for the war in Ukraine. The aggressor can withdraw," said Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson after EU member states late Thursday night concluded the first part of an EU summit held in Brussels.

No new sanctions passed at the meeting Thursday, but Andersson said that countries agree to apply maximum pressure on Russia by closing loopholes in existing sanctions.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden sent a signal to Western countries by attending for part of the meeting.

"We have discussed sanctions, but the emphasis has been to ensure all member states are able to comply," the Swedish PM relayed.

She notes that parties also agreed to continue supporting Ukraine, both in terms of suppling armaments as well as aid for Ukrainian refugees.

EU nations thereby continue to exempt Russian energy, one of the state's largest sources of revenue, from sanctions.

Ukraine is pleading to have such exceptions closed to stop financing the war by halting purchases of Russian energy.

According to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, EU states stopping Russian energy supply would have very serious consequences.

"We have discussed energy, but if we impose sanctions on energy now, it will have big consequences for our economy," De Croo says.

The US has already banned imports of Russian oil and gas, but the US is less dependent on Russian energy than European nations, which instead are taking measures to, in the longer term, become independent of Russian energy.

"We see Germany investing massively in renewable energy. Many other countries are also close to making decisions regarding energy affairs that will become very significant in the years to come. Altogether, this will have an enormous effect on Russia's economy in the coming years," De Croo says.

EU Member states conclude after the first summit day that Russia is committing "war crimes" in Ukraine by attacking civilians at hospitals and schools.

Member states again urge Russia to withdraw its forces, also concluding that new, albeit unspecified sanctions could be introduced. At the same time, EU states agree to set up a fund to help Ukraine rebuild, with an international conference also planned to facilitate raising money for the fund.

Even though the summit falls short of intensifying sanctions against Russia, Western countries have, De Croo says, succeeded in isolating Moscow economically and diplomatically.

"This summit shows that we are not alone in a chaotic world. We have our European and US partners – unlike Putin, who is completely alone in the world," De Croo says.

(Note: All citations retranslated from Danish due to traceability issues)

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