The United States announced today, Friday, the signing of new sanctions against Russia and its allies, and the imposition of new export restrictions and duties aimed at weakening Moscow's ability to continue the war on Ukraine, which marks its first anniversary today.

Washington has said it will provide more weapons worth $2 billion to Kiev as it prepares to launch an offensive in the spring, but the support does not include the F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has requested.

US President Joe Biden and G7 leaders are holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to discuss additional aid that can be provided to the Ukrainians.

Today, Friday, Ukraine received from Poland the first German-made "Leopard 2" tanks, according to the Polish news agency, which quoted government sources as saying that "Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will announce Friday in Kiev that Poland has delivered the first Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine."

The French Press Agency also quoted government sources as saying that Sweden will deliver about 10 Leopard tanks and anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.


The United States joined the Group of Seven countries in plans to sign sanctions that will target 200 individuals and entities and dozens of Russian financial institutions.

The White House said in a statement that the sanctions were directed at targets in Russia and "third country actors" across Europe, Asia and the Middle East that support Russia's war effort.

"We will sanction others associated with the Russian defense and technology sectors, including those responsible for refilling Russia's stockpile of sanctioned items or enabling Russia to evade sanctions," he added.

And Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the Group of Seven will call during its virtual summit today, Friday, to refrain from sending any military aid to Russia.

Prior to the summit, which his country will chair, he referred to "military support for Russia by other countries that has been reported," and said that "the G7 intends to call for an end to this support."


field developments

On the ground, the Russian Ministry of Defense said today, Friday, that its forces continue to attack along the front line in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, and that they have killed up to 240 Ukrainian soldiers in the past 24 hours.

"The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out a special military operation... In the direction of Donetsk, units of the Southern Forces Group launched a comprehensive attack on gatherings of enemy forces and equipment along the entire line of contact," the ministry stated in a daily briefing.

The past weeks have seen Russia launch ground attacks in snowy lands in battles that both sides described as the bloodiest of the war.

Ukraine said on Thursday that its forces had repulsed Russian attacks along the front line.


On the other hand, Russia has warned that it will "respond" to any Ukrainian military "provocation" in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria and Moldavia, where Moscow is deploying military force.

And the ministry stressed in a statement that any move that constitutes a "danger" to the Russian military stationed in Transnistria "will be considered an attack on the Russian Federation."

Transnistria is a small region that declared its secession from Moldova in the 1990s after a short war, and is located on the western borders of Ukraine, and in recent weeks has been the focus of increasing tension.

The Foreign Ministry accused Kiev of amassing "men and military equipment" near Transnistria, noting also the "deployment of artillery positions and an unprecedented increase in the flight of Ukrainian parades" over the region.

Meanwhile, the Russian military website "Rebar" said that "Wagner" forces took control of the town of Berkhovka, on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut.

The site added that controlling this town will enable these forces to cut off one of the most important supply routes for the Ukrainian army.

The commander of the "Wagner" militia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared in a video clip as he inspected the locations of his forces in what was said to be the eastern neighborhoods of Bakhmut.

However, the Ukrainian Staff Command said that it had confronted Russian attacks in several areas of the Donbass region, eastern Ukraine, especially in Bakhmut, and added that violent Russian bombing targeted towns in the vicinity of the city.


Chinese settlement

Earlier today, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a document entitled "China's position on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis" that "all parties should support Russia and Ukraine to move in the same direction and resume direct dialogue between them as soon as possible."

"Nuclear weapons should not be used, nuclear wars should not be fought, and the threat or resort to atomic weapons should be opposed," she added.

The document also called for avoiding any attack on civilians or civilian facilities.

Beijing stressed in the document that "the parties to the conflict must strictly abide by international humanitarian law and avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities."

Beijing offered Moscow its vision for a "political settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine, at the conclusion of Russian-Chinese talks held the day before yesterday in the Russian capital.

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Chinese foreign policy official Wang Yi confirmed willingness to play a "neutral and constructive" role between Russia and Ukraine.