Deputy Speaker of the US State Department Mark Toner said that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia for its violation of the sovereignty of Ukraine will remain in effect until the return of the Crimea, Ukrinform reports.

“Our attitude has been and will remain – within the present administration – unchanged. As for the sanctions regarding the Crimea – they will stay in effect until Russia takes its troops out of the Crimea and returns the peninsula to Ukraine,” Toner said. …

The minister of national defense for Poland, Antoni Macierewicz, announced the purchase of drones for operational forces and territorial defense troops, Polish Radio reported. According to Macierewicz, the troops will be equipped with both combat and surveillance drones.

“I intend to purchase as many as are needed for each type of unit. This weapon, speaking of drones, is massive. Its efficiency depends on the quantity. That is why we are talking about thousands of drones,” Macierewicz said. …

The European Union agreed on the introduction of new personal sanctions against Crimean officials, Reuters reports, indicating that this decision was based on the accession of the Crimea to Russia.

According to the newspaper Delfi, the decision was made at the request of Lithuania and was formally approved at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union.

It was noted that the sanctions will affect the six deputies of the State Duma who were …