The European Union aims to ban all imports of Russian oil by the end of the year.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this morning announced the bloc’s sixth package of sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

She said member states should stop buying crude oil products within six months and refined products by the end of the year.

The sanctions still must be ratified by all 27 member states.

Countries like Hungary and Slovakia that are heavily reliant on Russian oil could be given more time to wean themselves off it.

“This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined,” President von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

“It will not be easy. Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin must pay a price - a high price - for his brutal aggression.”

The Kremlin said it was “evaluating its options” in response to the announcement.

The EU as a whole relies on Russia for around 265 of its oil supplies.

Slovakia gets more than 90% of its oil from Russia, while Hungary also secures a majority of its supply from there.

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said Ireland is one of the least affected countries in Europe by the move.

“We have the least amount of oil historically within our stocks. We haven’t brought in Russian oil now in the last several weeks.

“So, it won’t have an immediate effect on our supply. We have seen prices edge up again this morning - I have just seen the oil prices there - and that is to be expected but I think it is the right thing to do.”

The announcement Brent crude prices rising by more than 3% on Wednesday morning to just below $109 a barrel.