EUROPEAN UNION countries agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil and other sanctions today after Moscow officially annexed four regions in Ukraine.

The sanctions include curbs on EU exports of aircraft components to Russia and limits on steel imports from the country.

It builds on existing European sanctions imposed in retaliation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc will impose a ban on transporting Russian oil by sea to other countries above the price cap by December 5 when an EU embargo on most Russian oil takes into place.

It came after a lengthy debate as several EU member states were worried it would damage their shipping industries.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the deal, saying: “We have moved quickly and decisively.

“We will never accept [Russian President Vladimir Putin’s] sham referenda nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine.

“We are determined to continue making the Kremlin pay.”

Mr Putin signed laws that claimed Ukraine’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as Russian territory today.

The annexation is in violation of international law.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov held the door open for further land claims, saying that “certain territories will be reclaimed, and we will keep consulting residents who would be eager to embrace Russia.”

Mr Peskov did not specify which additional Ukrainian territories Moscow is eyeing for attempted annexation.

The exact borders of some areas Moscow is claiming remain unclear, but Mr Putin has vowed to defend Russia’s territory with any means at his military’s disposal, which includes nuclear weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the annexation by announcing Ukraine’s fast-track application to join Nato.

Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said today that the US decision to send $625 million (£547m) more in military aid to Ukraine “increases the danger of a direct military clash” between Moscow and the West.

Mr Antonov warned that the decision “to continue pumping the Kiev regime with heavy weapons only secures Washington’s status as a participant of the conflict.”

He said this would result in “protracted bloodshed and new casualties.

“We call on Washington to stop its provocative actions that could lead to the most serious consequences,” he said.