The European Union has agreed on a new raft of sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning its imports of liquefied natural gas, the Danish EU presidency announced Thursday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU countries on Thursday formally adopted a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports. The 27 member states had already approved the package on Wednesday evening after Slovakia dropped its block.

As Zelenskyy lauds Europe and the U.S. for ramping up economic pressure on Putin over the war in Ukraine, Moscow dismisses them as a counterproductive "act of war."

The European Union on Thursday formally adopted sweeping sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector, a day after the United States announced punitive measures against the Kremlin's oil industry.

Russia launched a large-scale air attack on Ukraine early Wednesday, causing power outages across most of the country, setting homes ablaze and killing at least six people, including a six-month-old baby,

Russia has initiated a large-scale manoeuvre of its strategic nuclear forces, running parallel to an ongoing NATO nuclear exercise in Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed on Wednesday that it was a scheduled military exercise,