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 their survival. In another show of Western support, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to provide continued aid and military training, adding that evidence suggests that Russia “has suffered heavy casualties.” in the invasion.
“We are with you to give you the strategic strength you will need,” Johnson said on his second visit to the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the right, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pose for a photo during their meeting in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, June 17, 2022 (Presidential Press Office of Ukraine via AP )
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.
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.
At the Russian Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday, Putin reiterated his usual defense of the war. He claimed that the invasion 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 was followed by one of the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, and Romania, who promised Kyiv the day before to support the Ukrainian struggle without asking him to make any territorial concessions to Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi take part in a press conference following a meeting of the College of Commissioners at the EU in Brussels on Friday 17 June 2022. (AP Photo / Geert) Vanden Wijngaert) The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is chairing a meeting of the College of Commissioners at the the EU in Brussels, Friday 17 June 2022. (Photo AP / Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Johnson said the British-led training program could “change the equation of this war.” Ukraine has suffered heavy casualties in the battle for the industrial center in the east of the country.
“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, “Johnson said.
“His spending on ammunition, howitzers and other weapons is colossal.”
He said that two months after his last visit, “Ukraine’s heart, determination and resistance are stronger than ever, and I know that the unwavering determination will long survive President Putin’s vain ambitions.”
Search and rescue workers and local residents remove a body from under the rubble of a building after a Russian airstrike in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Photo AP / Efrem Lukatsky )
Johnson said his government will work to intensify sanctions on Russia. He praised the resistance of the Ukrainians and how “life returns to the streets” of Kyiv, but noted that “in just a couple of hours, a barbaric assault continues. Cities and towns are being reduced to rubble.”
Zelenskyy welcomed Johnson’s visit, telling Telegram: “We have a common vision of the movement towards victory for Ukraine. I am grateful for the powerful support!”
The possibility of joining the European Union, 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 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.
French President Emmanuel Macron on the right, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on the left, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in the center, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the second left, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Ludovic Marin, AP Pool)
Political and military support for Ukraine from Western countries has been key to its astonishing success in the face of the largest and best-equipped Russian forces.
Zelenskyy has also demanded additional immediate support in the form of more and better weapons to change course to the east, known as the Donbas region.
Russia pressed its offensive on Friday, leaving residents desperate to make sense of what lies ahead.
“We’re old, 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 on the other side of the Sievierodonetsk River, where there is a key battle.