The export of millions of tons of grain from the war-torn Ukraine is to be jointly monitored by the conflicting parties under UN leadership.

An agreement to end Russia's grain blockade in the Black Sea, due to be signed on Friday, calls for a joint control center in Istanbul to be run by the United Nations and staffed by representatives from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

The German Press Agency learned this from diplomatic circles in New York.

Details of the EU's new sanctions against Russia have also been made public.

The envisaged agreement on the Ukrainian grain deliveries provides that the precise coordinates for the humanitarian corridor on the sea route between Ukraine and the Bosphorus will also be determined in the control center in Istanbul.

According to dpa information, the parties also agreed that ships bound for Ukraine would first be searched in Istanbul to ensure that they were not carrying any weapons or anything similar.

There should be another check in Turkey if ships from Ukraine want to leave the Black Sea again.

This is to ensure that only grain is on board.

Ships in the humanitarian corridor and the ports involved should not be attacked.

The agreement is said to be initially valid for four months.

Selenskyj is doubly optimistic

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was optimistic not only about the grain negotiations, but also about the military situation.

At a meeting with the heads of reconnaissance, the military and the interior ministry, the situation at the front and the supply of their own troops with new weapons were discussed.

We "agreed that we have significant potential to advance our forces on the front line and inflict significant new casualties on the occupiers," Zelenskyy said.

EU sanctions gold from Russia

57 names and organizations appear in the EU's new sanctions package, which was published in the EU Official Journal late Thursday evening - including the head of the Russian arms holding Rostech and the Russian Sberbank.

Above all, however, the export of Russian gold was limited.

The Russian Foreign Ministry described the new EU sanctions as pointless, illegal and dangerous for the entire global economy.

The import ban for gold and gold jewelery from Russia to the EU also applies if the goods were previously sold in a third country.

According to the EU Commission, there are exceptions for personal gold jewelry on private trips.

In addition, sanctions against the largest Russian bank have been expanded: Sberbank will in future be one of those financial institutions whose money and other resources can be frozen.

In addition, no financial or other means may be made available to the bank.

Again, there are only a few exceptions.

It is the seventh package agreed by the 27 EU countries in response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

"This sends a strong signal to Moscow: We will keep up the pressure for as long as necessary," said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter.