EXPLAINER: Effects of EU Russia oil ban, Moscow’s response

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union has agreed to slash Russian oil imports in a tough escalation of the bloc’s campaign of sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. It’s a landmark decision that will hit Russian coffers in the long term, but could also hurt consumers across the European continent. The move agreed late Monday at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels comes amid soaring energy prices in Europe and could spark more rises, particularly later this year as nations compete for natural gas supplies to heat homes and fire industries, analysts say. Just hours before U.S. markets opened Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude had climbed $1.25 to $115.92 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.