Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) (AFP) – Russia on Monday launched a fresh assault on the critical Ukrainian port of Odessa as the United States warned that Moscow was preparing formally to annex embattled regions in the east. The new heavy fighting came as the European Union said it was bracing for a complete end to Russian gas supplies, with the bloc preparing another package of sanctions sure to anger President Vladimir Putin. After failing to take the capital Kyiv, Moscow has shifted its two-month-old invasion to largely Russian-speaking areas and has stepped up pressure on Odessa, a celebrated cult…