"We know that the situation in the country is very serious and that's why we continue to support and there are many initiatives ongoing, [...] but it's clear that the situation on the ground is very difficult -- we are not hiding that it's true -- and the fact that Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled any visit [including to Portugal and Spain] shows the gravity of the situation", said a senior European official speaking to European journalists in Brussels, including Lusa. "We continue to support Ukraine. I think what we have seen last week and what will be confirmed next week, in terms of the use of the frozen assets [Russian] windfall, shows our determination to continue supporting", added the same European diplomatic source. The Ukrainian President has cancelled all trips abroad in the coming days, the spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency announced today, at a time when Ukraine is facing a new Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region. This announcement was made after the Spanish authorities had previously announced a visit by Zelensky to Madrid and the Portuguese Government had said that a trip to Lisbon was also being prepared. Russia launched a surprise offensive against the Kharkiv region on Friday, whose capital, with the same name and the second largest city in Ukraine, is located near the border between the two countries. The Ukrainian presidency today announced the sending of reinforcements to the Kharkiv region, after part of the forces had been withdrawn from some positions due to the significant advances of the Russian troops. The most active clashes were taking place in Lukianti and Vovchansk, north of Kharkiv, where Russian troops managed to penetrate last week for the first time since the start of the invasion, at the end of February 2022. Today, the permanent representatives of the Member States to the EU had a first discussion on a new sanctions package, the 14th, against Russia, which includes the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, sectoral measures concerning Belarus and the 'shadow fleet', ships used to transport goods in violation of previous restrictive measures. "Today's debate focused on some specific aspects of the 14th sanctions package, on which we asked the delegations to provide further guidance -- and not on the whole package -- and, on that basis and on the technical work, the Commission will present a new revised proposal in the coming days", said another European source, to Lusa and other European media. Next week, the permanent representatives of the Member States to the EU are then expected to "analyse the entire sanctions package", added the same source, admitting, however, that "several other rounds are needed to conclude the whole process". Last week, the ambassadors of the 27 Member States to the EU reached a political agreement on the mobilisation of profits from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, and indicated that they were studying new sanctions on Russia that cover LNG. The Russian military offensive in Ukrainian territory, launched on 24 February 2022, has plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945). Read Also: Zelensky describes partially stabilised situation in Kharkiv (Portuguese version)