Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday predicted the Russian economy would withstand the European Union's latest sanctions package and said Moscow would intensify its strikes against Ukraine.

BRUSSELS -- The European Union approved on Friday a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine, including a lower oil price cap, a ban on transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines, and the targeting of more shadow fleet ships, the EU foreign policy chief said.

The 27 EU member states have agreed an 18th sanctions package targeting Russia for invading Ukraine after being blocked for weeks by Slovakia. The sanctions are intended to further reduce Russian revenues from the export of oil to non-EU countries and impact the Russian financial sector.