LYSYCHANSK, Ukraine (AP) – The European Union’s executive branch on Friday recommended putting Ukraine on the path to accession, a symbolic boost for a country defending a Russian attack that is causing civilian lives, flattening cities and threatening their survival.
The possibility of belonging to a union created to safeguard peace on the continent and which stands as a model for the rule of law and prosperity fulfills a wish of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the many Western-looking citizens.
In another show of solidarity, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy, his second trip to the country since the war began.
Ukraine’s latest hug by its European allies also marks another setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched his war almost four months ago, in hopes of alienating his former Soviet neighbor from the West. and return to the sphere of influence of Russia.
On Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin reiterated his usual defense of Russia’s war in Ukraine, falsely claiming it was an act of self-defense. He had previously insisted that his invasion was necessary to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed rebels and to ensure Russia’s security.
The European Commission’s recommendation that Ukraine become a candidate for membership will be discussed by the leaders of the 27-nation bloc during a summit next week in Brussels. The war has increased pressure on EU governments to accelerate Ukraine’s candidate status. But the process is expected to take years and EU members remain divided over how quickly and fully open their arms to the new members.
Western political and military support for Ukraine has been key to its astonishing success with the largest and best-equipped Russian forces. Zelenskyy has also called for more immediate support in the form of more and better weapons to change course in the eastern Donbas region.
Russia pressed its offensive on Friday, leaving desperate residents struggling to make sense of what the future holds.
“We are old people, we have nowhere to go. “Where am I going?” Asked Vira Miedientseva, one of the elderly residents facing the aftermath of a Thursday attack on Lysychansk, just across the Sievierodonetsk River. key battle.
In other developments:
– The Ukrainian navy claimed on Friday that it had destroyed a Russian ship carrying air defense systems on a strategic island in the Black Sea. In a statement on social media, the Navy said the Vasily Bekh was used to transport ammunition, weapons and personnel to Snake Island, which is vital for protecting sea lanes outside the key port of Odessa. .
– A group of volunteers called the “Ukrainian Computer Army” was recognized for a cyberattack that delayed Putin’s speech in St. Petersburg. The group was summoned by Ukraine after the invasion to launch cyberattacks against Russian targets. He said he carried out a distributed denial of service attack on Friday, taking advantage of zombie computer networks to flood websites with junk traffic, making them unreachable.
– The interruption of the war on exports of cereals and other crops from Ukraine that feed the world has caught global attention and has caused bread prices to rise worldwide. But the production of other more niche foods has also been affected, including for a Ukrainian snail breeder.
– The organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest said on Friday that he would start talks with the BBC about possibly holding next year’s event in the UK after concluding that it could not be held in Ukraine. Last month, the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest, cheering on Ukrainian spirits. The event is traditionally organized by the previous year’s winner.
After a series of setbacks at the beginning of the war, including the failure to seize the capital of Ukraine, Russian forces have shifted their focus to the Donbas.
The Ukrainian army said on Friday that Moscow troops had maintained relentless attacks on both Sloviansk and Sievierodonetsk, two key cities that have been the focus of recent fighting. The army said Ukrainian forces were pushing Russian fighters out of the village of Bohorodychne in northern Sloviansk.
Russia and its allies say they have taken about half of Donetsk and almost all of Luhansk, the two regions that make up the Donbas. Sievierodonetsk and the surrounding villages are in the last pocket of the Luhansk region still in the hands of Ukraine.
“The Russians are setting fire to the city,” Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said. “It’s getting harder and harder for us to fight in Sievierodonetsk, because the Russians outnumber us in artillery and manpower, and it’s hard for us to resist this bombing.”
The constant bombing made it impossible for 568 people, including 38 children, refugees at the Azot chemical plant in the city to escape, he said.
Russian forces have destroyed all three bridges leaving the city, but Haidai said it had not yet been completely blocked.
The Moscow envoy for Russia-backed separatists who control much of the territory around Sievierodonetsk said an evacuation of the Azot plant could be carried out under certain conditions.
Writing on social media on Friday, Rodion Miroshnik of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic said Russian troops and separatists are “ready to consider options to open a humanitarian corridor for the departure of civilians, but subject to a strict compliance with the ceasefire “. ”
Earlier this week, Miroshnik accused Kyiv troops of trying to disrupt the evacuation of civilians from Azot, a claim strongly denied by Ukrainian officials.
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Keyton reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
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