Vladimir Putin. | Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images Putin extends counter-sanctions against EU Moscow extends measures against the West days after the EU approved an extension of its sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Friday extending through 2018 sanctions against the EU that he imposed in retaliation for action by the West after the Kremlin's military intervention in Ukraine.

Putin's move came in the same week that the EU formally approved a six-month extension of its sanctions against Russia, which were imposed after the invasion and annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

EU leaders have made clear that they will not lift the sanctions against Russia until the implementation of the Minsk 2 peace accord, brokered by the leaders of France and Germany and agreed by Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The United States also recently extended its sanctions against Russia and the U.S. Congress has moved to impose additional punitive measures. Meanwhile, in a show of resolve, the EU and Ukraine have moved to tighten economic and political ties.

While EU leaders continue to hold out hope, there has been little incentive either for Russia or Ukraine to implement the Minsk 2 peace accord, leaving the conflict in the eastern Donbas region simmering with no sign of an end.

Russia's counter-sanctions bar the import "of particular kinds of agricultural produce, raw materials and foodstuffs originating in countries that have decided to impose economic sanctions on" Russia, Russian businesses or individuals.

Putin first imposed the measures in 2014 and 2015 in response to the Western sanctions.

At times the bite of the counter sanctions has threatened to shake the EU's unity in maintaining pressure on Russia. At the same time, however, some of the countries hit hardest by the counter-sanctions, in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, have been among the most resolute in wanting the Kremlin held accountable for the crisis in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has claimed that barring European food products has helped spur domestic production, but the ban has also stripped many popular products off the shelves of supermarkets and contributed to inflation and a raise in living costs.