Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands after a press conference on June 16, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Alexey Furman / Getty Images
The executive arm of the European Union on Friday recommended putting Ukraine on the path to accession, a symbolic boost for a country defending a Russian attack that is killing civilians, crushing cities and threatening its own survival.
In another show of Western support, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to offer continued aid and military training.
The last hug of European allies in Ukraine was another setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched his war almost four months ago, hoping to move his former Soviet counterpart away from the West and return to the West. Russia’s sphere of influence.
On Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said that Moscow “has nothing against” Ukraine’s accession to the EU, because “it is not a military organization, a political organization like NATO.” He also reiterated his usual defense of the war, arguing that it was necessary to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed rebels and to ensure Russia’s own security.
Johnson’s trip to Kyiv was followed on Thursday by leaders from Germany, France, Italy and Romania, who pledged to support Ukraine without asking Russia for a territorial concession.
“We are with you to give you the strategic strength you will need,” Johnson said on his second visit to the country since the war began on Feb. 24. Although he did not detail the aid, he said Britain would lead a program that could train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers every 120 days at an unspecified location outside the country.
The training program could “change the equation of this war,” he said. Ukraine has suffered numerous casualties in fighting in the east.
“I fully understand why you and your people cannot make a compromise with Putin, because if Ukraine suffers, if Ukrainian troops suffer, then I must tell you that all the evidence is that Putin’s troops are subject to a Acute pressure and they are suffering. With great casualties, “he said. “His spending on ammunition, shells and other weapons is colossal.”
Since his visit in April, “Ukraine’s courage, determination and resilience are stronger than ever, and I know that the unwavering determination will long survive President Putin’s vain ambitions,” he said. .
Johnson said the United Kingdom would work to intensify sanctions on Russia. He praised the resistance of the Ukrainians and how “life is returning to the streets” of Kyiv, but noted that “only a couple of hours away, a barbaric assault continues. Cities and towns are being reduced to rubble.” .
Zelenskyy gave Johnson a tour of a monastery where candles were lit and the British leader received an icon. They placed flowers on an outdoor memorial wall displaying photos of soldiers who fell in combat in 2014, saw an exhibition of damaged and rusted Russian weapons, and greeted the crowd.
“We have a common vision of the movement for the victory of Ukraine. I am grateful for the powerful support! “Zelenskyy told Telegram.
The possibility of joining the EU, created to safeguard peace on the continent and to serve as a model for the rule of law and prosperity, fulfills a desire of Zelenskyy and his Western-looking citizens.
The European Commission’s recommendation that Ukraine become a candidate for accession will be discussed by the leaders of the 27-nation bloc next week in Brussels. The war has increased pressure on EU governments to speed up Ukraine’s candidacy, but the process is expected to last for years and EU members remain divided on how quickly and fully they welcome the EU. new members.
The political and military support of Western countries has been key to Ukraine’s astonishing success against larger and better-equipped Russian forces. Zelenskyy has also demanded immediate immediate support in the form of more and better weapons to change course in the industrial east, known as the Donbas region.
MURAT YUKSELIR / THE BALLOON AND THE MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS
In St. Petersburg, Putin denounced the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and its allies as “insane and, I would say, reckless.”
“The calculation was understandable: shamelessly crushing the Russian economy in one fell swoop, destroying business chains, forcing Western companies to withdraw from the Russian market, freezing domestic assets, hitting industry, finance and the level of people’s lives. It didn’t work, “he said.
Russia has taken its offensive to the east, leaving residents desperate for its future.
“We are old people, we have nowhere to go. Where will I go? ”Asked Vira Miedientseva, an elderly resident who is struggling with the aftermath of a Thursday attack on Lysychansk on the other side of the Sievierodonetsk River, where there is a key battle.
In other news on Friday:
- The Ukrainian navy claimed to have destroyed a Russian ship carrying air defense systems on a strategic island in the Black Sea. The navy told social media that the Vasily Bekh was used to transport ammunition, weapons and personnel to Snake Island, which is vital to protecting the sea lanes outside the key port of Odessa.
- A group of volunteers called the “Ukrainian Computer Army” said it carried out 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, which takes advantage of zombie computer networks to flood websites with junk traffic, making them unreachable.
- The interruption of the war on exports of grain and other crops from Ukraine that feed the world has caught global attention and 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 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. The Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest, cheering on Ukrainian spirits. The event is traditionally organized by the previous year’s winner.
Russian forces have focused on the Donbas after a series of setbacks early in the war, including the lack of power in the Ukrainian capital. The Ukrainian army says Moscow troops have maintained relentless attacks on Sloviansk and Sievierodonetsk, 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 the three bridges leading from 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 still take place. Rodion Miroshnik of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic told social media that Russian troops and separatists are “willing to consider options to open a humanitarian corridor for the departure of civilians, but subject to strict compliance with the ceasefire. “
Earlier this week, Miroshnik accused Kyiv of trying to stop the evacuation of civilians from Azot, a statement strongly denied by Ukrainian officials.
Images of drones showed what was once a thriving tram depot in northern Kharkiv became a tram “cemetery” after Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.
Reuters
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