Ukraine announces the thwarting of a Russian plan to seize a strategic target in Pokrovsk.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arab Gulf - Follow-ups: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday evening that a military plan that Russian forces had been pursuing for a long time in "Pokrovsk" had been thwarted. Zelenskyy said that his forces had launched a counterattack that disrupted Russia's plans to achieve a long-sought goal of seizing the supply center in Pokrovsk. In his evening address, he added that "Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack on the front line around two cities in the east of the country," noting that "the Russians suffered heavy losses," as he put it. Regarding Russia's goal in "Pokrovsk," Zelenskyy said: "It was one of the most important axes of the Russian attack, and they were unable to launch a full-scale attack. Our army is destroying their forces." Russia announced that its forces had seized two new villages in their slow advance in eastern and southern Ukraine, but the Russian Ministry of Defense did not mention the Ukrainian attack near the cities of "Pokrovsk" and "Dobropillia." Regarding the course of field fighting, he said: "Since last night, Russia has launched a drone attack on Ukraine, using nearly 90 attack aircraft. Our fighters managed to neutralize most of them." The Ukrainian president welcomed the European Union's presentation of the nineteenth sanctions package on Russia, saying that these measures would significantly affect the Russian economy. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram: "It targets the main engines of the war economy: energy revenues, the financial sector, advanced technological resources, and the military-industrial base." He added: "This is an important step that will increase pressure on the Russian war machine and will have a tangible impact." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the package on Friday, saying she wanted to "give peace a real chance" by persuading Russia to sit at the negotiating table and end the war that has been going on for more than 3 and a half years. EU foreign policy chief Kaya Callas said the sanctions aim to "hit Russia's sources of funding," including measures to classify 118 new ships as a shadow fleet and take action against Russian financial evasion schemes in third countries. Member states will now have to discuss the package before it can be adopted unanimously.