Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that Russia will intensify its attacks this week, and has warned European partners that they too should be prepared for increased hostilities while Kyiv awaits a decision on its candidacy. to join the EU.
The warning follows a recommendation from the European Commission to grant candidate status to Kyiv to join, once diplomatic for Moscow.
“A historic week begins tomorrow,” Zelenskiy said in a video address on Sunday night, adding: “There have been few such fateful decisions for Ukraine.
“And in a week like this, we should expect more hostile activity from Russia. And not only against Ukraine, but also against other European countries. We are preparing. We are ready. We warn the partners.”
European leaders will meet this week to give their final decision on Ukraine’s application for speedy membership.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has “nothing against” the move, a Kremlin spokesman said Russia was closely following Kyiv’s offer, especially in light of the increased defense cooperation between member countries.
An EU decision in favor of the final accession of Kyiv would put Ukraine on the path to realizing an aspiration that would have been beyond the reach of the former Soviet republic before the Russian invasion.
“Whole generations struggled to escape the Soviet Union prison and, like a free bird, to fly to European civilization,” Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on Sunday. a statement.
Zelensky expects Russia to intensify attacks on Ukraine and other European countries: video
On the battlefield, Russian forces continue their attempt to take full control of the eastern Donbas region, while Ukraine maintains that it has repulsed further attacks.
Strong fighting continues in Sievierodonetsk, where local officials acknowledge that Russia now controls most of the city.
Russia said on Sunday that it had seized Metyolkine, a village on the outskirts, and the Russian state news agency Tass reported that many Ukrainian fighters had surrendered. The Ukrainian military said Russia was “partially successful” in the area.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television that a Russian attack on Toshkivka, 35 km (20 miles) south of Sievierodonetsk, also “had some success.”
At the diplomatic level, EU foreign ministers will discuss ways to release millions of tonnes of grain stranded in Ukraine due to the blockade of the Russian Black Sea port at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
Ukraine is one of the world’s leading suppliers of wheat, but its grain shipments have stalled and more than 20 million tonnes have been trapped in silos since Russia invaded and blocked ports.
It is hoped that an agreement can be reached with the support of the United Nations to resume maritime exports from Ukraine in exchange for facilitating Russian exports of food and fertilizers. However, it is not yet clear whether the EU would be involved in the military security of this agreement.
An EU official said: “If there is a need in the future to escort these commercial vessels, this is a question mark and I think we are not there yet.”