EU prolongs Russia economic sanctions by 6 months

The European Union has officially extended economic sanctions against Russia by six months for destabilizing Ukraine.

EU headquarters said Wednesday that the decision was unanimous among all 28 EU nations.

EU leaders endorsed the move last week, agreeing that Russia had not done enough to respect the peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The EU first slapped sanctions on Russia three years ago after it annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

It has repeatedly extended them as the conflict between Ukraine's government and pro-Russian separatists which has killed more than 9,800 people since April 2014, dragged on.

A 2015 peace deal helped reduce the scale of fighting in the east, but violence has continued and attempts at a political settlement have failed.