title: Ukraine leader welcomes EU's extension of sanctions on Russia
text: KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday the EU s decision to extend economic sanctions on Russia was  an important political decision  on behalf of his country. The EU announced the six-month extension earlier in the day of the sanctions imposed in retaliation for Russia s annexation of Ukraine s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backing of separatist rebels in Ukraine s eastern Donbass region.  (It is) an important political decision by the leaders of the European Union to continue economic sanctions against Russia for violating Ukraine s territorial integrity and unwillingness to stop hybrid aggression against our country,  Poroshenko wrote on his official Facebook page. 