Lithuanian president hopes next EU sanctions package will be 'Molotov cocktail' for Russia

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says he hopes the European Union's next sanctions package will deal a serious blow to the Kremlin's economy.

"(Vladimir) Putin is turning the entire world against him and truly deserves much tougher sanctions than those currently in place," Nauseda told journalists on an LRT TV program on Monday.

"I really hope our colleagues in the European Union will understand that the 17th sanctions package was just a warm-up; we have to prepare an 18th package that will hit like a real Molotov cocktail," the president said.

He made the remarks as Russia continues to intensify its drone attacks on Ukraine, including on the capital Kyiv.

Responding to the strikes and stalled peace talks, US President Donald Trump said that the Kremlin leader "has gone absolutely CRAZY."

"These are strong words and a completely adequate statement, because for us this has been clear for quite some time," Nauseda said.

As the Kremlin's war on Ukraine continues, the EU last week adopted its 17th sanctions package against the Kremlin, but some member states are already calling for an 18th.