MOSCOW/BRUSSELS/LONDON/KYIV - Russia is not ruling out countermeasures following an analysis of the European Union's (EU's) 18th sanctions package, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Friday.

"Certainly, we will analyze their impact on our economy. We will take measures to safeguard our interests if necessary. And some countermeasures are also possible," the senior diplomat told TASS news agency.

The EU's 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions expands the blacklist of individuals and legal entities, lowers the price cap on EU purchases of Russian oil, rules out the possibility of resuming operations of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, imposes restrictions on oil tankers and banks, and introduces new export restrictions. 

The EU approved a new round of sanctions against Russia on Friday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said.

"The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date," Kallas wrote on the social media platform X.

The package contains a provision to lower the price cap on Russian oil sold to third countries by 15 percent below the market rate. Initially set at 60 US dollars per barrel by the G7 in 2022, the cap under this new EU scheme will launch at 47.6 dollars, with the flexibility to adjust in line with future oil price movements.

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As part of the package, measures are also included to ensure that the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea cannot be reactivated.

Also, Kallas said the EU will impose sanctions on a Russian-owned oil refinery in India and blacklist more than 100 additional vessels from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," believed to be circumventing EU sanctions by carrying mainly Russian oil.

Slovakia, which relies heavily on Russian gas, had been holding up the proposed EU sanctions package. However, it said Thursday evening that it will green-light the new EU sanctions after securing guarantees from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that protect Slovakia's energy interests. 

Meanwhile, Britain on Friday joined the European Union's (EU) new package of sanctions on Russia.

Britain and the EU announced on Friday a lowering of the Crude Oil Price Cap, from $60 a barrel to $47.60, "directly hitting Russia's oil revenues," according to a statement by Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Britain and the EU are "working in lockstep" to ramp up economic pressure on Russia, the statement added.

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Also on Friday,  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had spoken with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, about the situation on the frontline in Ukraine and the country's urgent defense needs.

In a post on social media platform X, Zelensky said the phone conversation touched upon strengthening Ukraine's air defense, including the supply of missiles for SAMP/T systems and funding for interceptor drones.

He also noted that France had agreed to train more Ukrainian pilots on Mirage fighter jets.