EU proposes complete Russian oil ban

The European Union is proposing a complete ban on Russian oil by the end of the year, a step for a continent that has had to weigh its growing support for Ukraine's defense with its reliance on energy imported from Moscow.

The plan to deprive the Kremlin of a key source of revenue will have to be approved by the bloc's 27 member states. It is part of a wider set of sanctions as Europe takes new action to punish Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Russian forces bombarded infrastructure over the country late Tuesday, seemingly targeting power hubs and railways, while its offensive in the east struggled to make progress.

The last Ukrainian defenders and some civilians faced a new Russian attack on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, but more than a hundred people made it to safer territory after weeks in the key port city's final stronghold.