The European Union and Britain on Friday sought to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to halt the war in Ukraine by slashing a price cap meant to choke off revenues from key oil exports. The EU and Britain said they would lower the cap on Russian oil exported to third countries around the world to 15 percent below market value.

European Union member states on July 18 agreed on the 18th package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tepidly praised Trump's decision to send weapons to Ukraine.

Russian weapons pounded four Ukrainian cities overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure, officials said.