- Zelenskiy thanks EU leaders for the solidarity visit
- Leaders tour the ruined city of Irpin
- Fighting intensified in Sievierodonetsk and southern Ukraine
KIEV / IRPIN, Ukraine, June 17 (Reuters) – The United Kingdom will hold talks on Friday on rebuilding key infrastructure in Kyiv, a day after leaders from Germany, France and Italy visited and offered Ukraine hopes to join the EU while fighting a fierce Russian offensive in the east.
The sirens of the airstrikes sounded as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Olaf Scholz and Italian Mario Draghi visited the capital of Ukraine and a nearby war-torn city. Read more
After holding talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, leaders noted that Ukraine should be granted candidate status for the European Union, a symbolic gesture that would bring Kyiv closer to the economic bloc.
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Scholz said Germany had taken in 800,000 Ukrainian refugees and would continue to support Ukraine for as long as needed.
“Ukraine belongs to the European family,” he said.
The UK will receive Ukrainian representatives and business leaders on Friday to talk about how British companies can help rebuild key infrastructure in Kyiv. Read more
The United Kingdom will promote cooperation between its companies in infrastructure, energy and transport, and public and private organizations in Ukraine to help repair damaged and destroyed infrastructure.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian officials said their troops resisted the massive Russian bombing of the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk and described new progress in a counter-offensive in the south.
But they said battles on the two main fronts depended on receiving more help from the West, especially artillery to counter Russia’s great advantage in firepower.
“We appreciate the support already provided by the partners, we look forward to new deliveries, mainly heavy weapons, modern rocket artillery, missile defense systems,” Zelenskiy said Thursday after talks with European counterparts.
Macron said France would increase arms deliveries to Kyiv, while NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels promised more weapons for Ukraine as they made plans to strengthen the eastern flank of the military-led alliance. by the US.
“MAKE EUROPE, NOT WAR”
The visit to Ukraine of the three most powerful EU leaders had taken weeks to organize as they defended criticism for positions described as too deferential with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The leaders, who were joined by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, toured Irpin, devastated shortly after the invasion began on February 24.
Pointing to a graffiti on a wall that said “Make Europe, not war,” Macron said, “It’s very emotional to see it. That’s the right message.”
Putin has repeatedly said that the main immediate reason for what he considers a “special military operation” was to protect Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine from persecution and attacks.
Scholz, Macron and Draghi say they are strong supporters of Ukraine who have taken practical steps to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy and find weapons to help Kyiv.
But Ukraine has long criticized Scholz for its slow arms delivery to Germany and its reluctance to break economic ties with Moscow, and this month has been furious with Macron for saying in an interview that Russia does not it must be “humiliated.”
Italy has also proposed a peace plan that Ukrainians fear could put pressure on them to relinquish territory. After talks in Kyiv, Macron said some sort of channel of communication with Putin was still needed.
“GHOST PEOPLE”
In the south, Ukraine says its forces have been raiding Kherson province, which Russia occupied at the beginning of its invasion. There have been few independent reports confirming battlefield positions in the area.
Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Twitter that he had visited an area about 3 to 4 km (about 2 miles) from Russian positions, where dozens of “ghost towns” were depopulated by fighting.
“Our boys on the ground: the mood is fighting. Even with limited resources, we are pushing back the enemy. One thing is missing: long-range weapons. In any case, we will throw them out of the south.” he wrote. .
The main battle in recent weeks has been over the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, where Ukrainian forces are locked in a chemical plant with hundreds of civilians.
“It’s getting harder every day because the Russians are bringing more and more weapons into the city,” said Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk.
An airstrike on Thursday struck a building housing civilians in Lysychansk on the other side of the river, killing at least four and injuring seven, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said.
Meanwhile, the Dutch intelligence service said it had discovered an elaborate Russian plot to place a military agent with a false Brazilian identity in the International Criminal Court, which is investigating alleged war crimes.
“This was a long-term, multi-year GRU operation that cost a lot of time, energy and money,” said Dutch intelligence chief Erik Akerboom, using the acronym Russian military intelligence service. There were no comments on the case of the Russian government or the ICC. Read more
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Additional reports from Reuters offices; Written by Rami Ayyub and Stephen Coates; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Alex Richardson and Rosalba O’Brien
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