Ukraine’s foreign minister Thursday repeated his country’s demand that the European Union cut off imports of Russian oil and gas. And the EU continues talks over a fifth round of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian coal.

So far the stumbling block in those talks has been Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian fossil fuels. But as more evidence emerges of Russian troops torturing and executing civilians in Ukraine, Germany is under pressure to cut off a major income stream currently funding President Vladimir Putin’s war.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with NPR’s Esme Nicholson.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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