European Union countries agreed on Thursday on a new, scaled-back sanctions package against Russia over the war in Ukraine, after weeks of discussions, which stipulates fixing the price cap on oil.

The package, the 21st announced by the bloc since the Russian invasion in 2022, was delayed due to many objections from member states to a number of proposals.

European Council President Antonio Costa said in an online post: 'Our 21st sanctions package targets the most impactful sectors: energy, financial services, cryptocurrencies, and trade.'

Diplomats said the last obstacle was overcome after Greece was granted an exemption allowing one of its shipping companies to continue transporting Russian liquefied natural gas from the Arctic region.

Image from a video showing a Russian soldier feeding a cannon on the front line Thursday (AP)

Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries sought to reach an agreement to freeze the cap imposed on Russian crude exports to keep its price at $44, before a deadline that would have led to a significant price increase.

Under the agreement, the current price level will remain unchanged for the next 12 months, as the European Union tries to prevent Russia from benefiting from rising oil prices due to the Middle East war.

The new package also targets Moscow's financial sector and cryptocurrencies, and adds more Russian officials to the EU blacklists over the war.

But a proposed visa ban to prevent Russians who fought in Ukraine from entering EU countries was dropped.

Diplomats said there is only a commitment to work towards imposing such a ban in the future.

Many other proposed items were also abandoned.

Bulgaria said it succeeded in preventing the inclusion of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church on the asset freeze and visa ban list.

Portugal and France, according to diplomats, also objected to a ban on importing pollock and Alaska pollock from Russia.

Ukrainian firefighter battles a fire that broke out from a Russian attack in the city of Sumy on Thursday (Reuters)

The new package comes as Kyiv appears to be gaining ground on Moscow.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: 'With Ukrainian military momentum, our sanctions continue to weaken the economic foundations of Russia's war effort.'

Field developments

Russia's Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing the Defense Ministry, that Russian forces struck infrastructure for transporting military cargo at the Ukrainian port of Odesa on the Black Sea.

Russia and Ukraine have intensified their military activity in and around the Black Sea and also the Sea of Azov in recent weeks, launching attacks on dozens of ships, including oil tankers and cargo vessels.

Russian authorities said on Thursday that two people, including a 3-year-old child, were killed in two separate Ukrainian attacks overnight on the city of Voronezh in southern Russia and the Moscow-controlled Crimean peninsula.

Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the Crimean peninsula, said one person was killed in the peninsula and four others wounded, including two children.

Alexander Gusev, the governor of Voronezh, said drone debris caused a fire in a home occupied by a 3-year-old child in the city, about 500 km south of Moscow, killing him.

Image from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry showing a soldier preparing an attack drone to launch towards Ukrainian positions on Thursday (AP)

The governor of the Ulyanovsk region, east of Moscow, said Ukrainian drones targeted an energy facility, causing a fire.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that air defense units shot down 223 Ukrainian-launched drones overnight.

In response, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement on Telegram on Thursday that Ukrainian air defense forces shot down two guided air-to-surface missiles, as well as 154 out of 168 drones launched by Russia overnight at northern, southern, and eastern Ukraine.

The statement said Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight using an Iskander-M ballistic missile, 5 Kh-59/69 guided air-to-surface missiles, and 168 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmash and other types of drones launched from the Russian areas of Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and from Donetsk and Hvardiyske in the temporarily occupied Crimea, according to Ukrinform.

The statement added that the attack was repelled by Ukrainian Air Force and Air Defense units, electronic warfare units, drones, and mobile fire teams.

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