KYIV, June 23 (Reuters) – Ukraine will be accepted as a candidate to join the European Union on Thursday in a move to boost the country’s morale in the war with Russian troops for two cities in the east. Acute climax “.
EU leaders meet in Brussels to approve the Kiev government’s application, which marks the beginning of a process that will take years, but will mark a major geopolitical change and annoy Russia as it struggles to impose its will on Ukraine.
Friday marks four months since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border in what he calls a “special military operation” somewhat necessary by Western encroachment that Russia considers his sphere of influence.
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The conflict, which the West views as Russia’s unjustified war of aggression, has killed thousands, displaced millions, destroyed cities and reduced food and energy exports, affecting much of the world.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged his allies to expedite the export of heavy weapons on par with Russia on the battlefield.
“We need to liberate our land and achieve success, but very, very quickly,” Zelenskiy said in a video address on Thursday.
Massive air and artillery attacks in Moscow are aimed at destroying the entire Donbass region, he said.
Russia focused its campaign on southern and eastern Ukraine after its progress in the capital, Kyiv, was thwarted by Ukrainian opposition in the early stages of the conflict.
Donbass – Ukraine’s industrial hub – is one of the most important of the twin cities of Chivrodonetsk and Lychisansk, across the river Shivarsky Donetsk in the Luhansk region.
The war there is “entering a kind of frightening climax,” said Oleksi Arrestovich, Zhelensky’s adviser.
Luhansk Governor Sergei Kaitai said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were guarding the settlements of Sivrodonetsk and nearby Solot and Vovsoyrovka, but that Russian forces had captured Loskudivka and Roy-Oleksandrovka in the south.
Hundreds of civilians are trapped in a chemical plant in Siverodonetsk, while Ukraine and Russia are arguing over who controls the bombing city.
It says Ukrainian forces are surrounded and trapped in Moscow. But Kaitoi told Ukrainian television on Wednesday that Russian forces did not have full control of the Siverodonetsk.
Kaitoi said Lisiான்ansk was all within reach of the Russian fire.
“In order to avoid encirclement, our command may order troops to retreat to new positions. They may be re-integrated after last night,” he said.
The TASS news agency quoted Russian-backed separatists as saying that Lisiான்ansk had now been cordoned off and supplies cut off after the road connecting the city with the city of Siewersk was taken.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
The British Ministry of Defense said that some Ukrainian units had been withdrawn to avoid being rounded up.
“Russian forces are putting more pressure on the Lisyansk-Zhivrodonetsk pocket with this creepy advance … However, its efforts to reach the deep siege to capture West Donetsk Oblast have stalled,” the ministry said on Twitter.
In March
Zhelensky said he had spoken with 11 EU leaders on Wednesday about Ukraine’s candidacy and would make further calls on Thursday.
EU Chief Executive Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in Brussels two days before the EU summit, said, “History is marching.”
He added: “I’m not just talking about Putin’s war of aggression. I’m talking about the winds of change blowing across our continent again.”
Similarly Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are seeking to join the EU in its most ambitious expansion since welcoming Eastern European countries after the Cold War.
Russia has long opposed close ties between Ukraine, the former Soviet republic and Western groups such as the European Union and the NATO military alliance.
Diplomats say it will take Ukraine a decade or more to meet the criteria for joining the EU. But EU leaders say the federation must make a gesture recognizing Ukraine’s sacrifice.
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Reuters Bureau report; Written by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Mark Heinrich
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