European Union will quickly say if it opens the way to Ukraine’s accession

The European Commission will indicate next week if it sees Ukraine’s candidacy for the European Union (EU) as viable, the president of the bloc’s executive said on Saturday during a surprise visit to kyiv, in the midst of a Russian military offensive in the east.

“Today’s talks will allow us to make our assessment between now and the end of next week.”said the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at a press conference together with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Look: First Russian passports handed over in occupied city in southern Ukraine

The Ukrainian government seeks to obtain a “legal commitment” of the European Union to examine his candidacy, as a way of reducing the vulnerability of the country confronted since February 24 with the Russian invasion.

There are expectations that the study of the candidacy will receive the green light at the bloc’s next summit, on June 23 and 24.

But senior officials of the European Union and some of its 27 member countries have warned that the admission process could take years or even decades.

Von der Leyen stressed that the former Soviet republic “It has made progress in strengthening the rule of law, but it still needs to implement reforms to fight corruption.”

Zelensky He replied that the fate of the European Union is largely played on Ukraine.

“Russia wants to destroy European unity, wants to divide Europe and weaken it. All of Europe is a target of Russia. Ukraine It is only the first step of this aggression”, he declared.

This visit by Von der Leyen – the second since the start of the war – coincides with the intensification of fighting in the Donbas region (east), partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

“Devastat every city in Donbas”

The office of Zelensky reported nightly “bombings” by the “occupants” in the Kharkov region, as well as in Luhansk and Donetsk, the two provinces that make up Donbas.

An AFP photographer reported artillery duels during the day around Severodonetsk.

The capture of this city would open the way to Kramatorsk for Moscow, an important stage in the conquest of the entire basin.

“The enemy” tries to “intensify the concentration of its troops”, but the Ukrainian forces resist “successfully” in Severodonetsk, near Metiolkiné, where “the occupiers have retreated”, and “near Popasna”, indicated the Ukrainian General Staff .

“Russia wants to devastate every city in Donbas, every one of them, without exaggeration,” Zelensky said on Friday.

In Lysychansk, residents explained to AFP their difficult choice: endure the shelling or flee and abandon their homes.

Yevhen Zhyryada, 39, said the only way to get water was to go “under shelling” to a distribution center. “This is how we survive,” he added.

A separatist leader from Lugansk, Leonid Pasechnik, admitted that “Severodonetsk has not been 100% liberated”.

“At the moment, we are not able to control the industrial zone,” Pasechnik told AFP during a visit to a Russian military hospital under construction in the region.

“But we will reach our goal, we will liberate the industrial zone, Severodonetsk… and Lysychansk will be ours,” he added.

“Russia still has sufficient potential to wage a long war against our country,” said the military information department of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

United States and the European Union gave strong support a Ukrainesupplying it with weapons and supporting its economy.

But Ukraine calls for more long-range weapons and an embargo on imports of Russian hydrocarbons, on which many European countries depend until now.

Global food risk

The consequences of the conflict have repercussions on a global scale, especially in the food market, given the important role of Ukraine and Russia as exporters of wheat.

The sea departures Ukraine are de facto blocked, preventing the export of millions of tons of grain.

In a video before the Shangri-La forum in Singapore, Zelensky warned that if his country does not resume exports, “The world is facing a severe food crisis, even famines” in Asian and African countries.

The UN and several countries are trying to open a maritime corridor to allow exports.

An adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France was ready to help secure access to the Ukrainian port of Odessa.

Strengthen NATO’s eastern flank

The Russian invasion has put European countries on edge, with nine of them calling on NATO on Friday to reinforce its eastern flank.

The leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia met in Bucharest less than three weeks before an alliance summit in Madrid.

“In view of the increased security risks in Romania and the Black Sea, the consolidation of NATO on its eastern flank (…) is even more urgent and crucial,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said.

Russia has repeatedly warned the United States and its NATO allies against any temptation to get involved in the conflict, even evoking the risk of nuclear war.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.