EU to keep supporting Ukraine as sanctions against Russia bite, says von der Leyen

The European Union will keep on supporting Ukraine as Ukraine is the victim of an aggression, the EU Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, adding that sanctions on Russia are hurting the Russian economy.

"Ukraine can count on us because this is not only an aggression against Ukraine, but it is an aggression against the principles of the UN Charter," she said in a speech in Johannesburg where she is attending a G20 summit.

"We have indeed unleashed 19 sections packages and these are biting sanctions," she said.

"You see it when you look at the increasing difficulties the Russian economy has, soaring inflation, soaring interest rates and overheated war economy. Slowly but surely, the figures are showing that the sanctions are biting."