The European Union executive recommended on June 17 that Ukraine and Moldova nominate Ukraine and Moldova for membership, a milestone in their potential path from ex-Soviet republics to developed economies in the world’s largest trading bloc. Suppose the European Commission’s decision is ratified as expected at a summit next week. In that case, it will boost morale for Kyiv and further Western stultification for Russian President Vladimir Putin after he invades Ukraine in February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter that the Ukrainians’ courage had allowed Europe to “create a new history of freedom and finally remove the gray zone in Eastern Europe between the EU and Russia”. As diplomacy progressed with Brussels, intense fighting continued in the eastern region of Donbas, where Russia is looking to cement and expand recent gains. At the same time, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a surprise visit to the capital Kyiv. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin scolded the West, especially the United States, in a grievance-filled speech in St Petersburg but tried to downplay the EU issue. “We have nothing against it,” he said. “It is not a military bloc. It is every country’s right to join the economic union.”
United States
Russian state TV broadcasts videos of two Americans missing in Ukraine
Russian state television broadcast on social media videos of two Americans who went missing last week while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army, stating that Russian troops had captured them. US President Joe Biden had said earlier Friday that he did not know the whereabouts of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, both US military veterans whose relatives lost contact with the couple. The missing Americans — including a third identified as a former US Marines captain — are believed to be among an unknown number, mostly military veterans, who have joined other foreigners to volunteer with Ukrainian troops. – AFP
Ukraine
Deadly airstrike hits Ukraine’s frontline as it prepares for street fighting.
A resident walks in front of a building destroyed by a military attack as the Russian attack on Ukraine continues, in Lysychansk, Ukraine’s Luhansk region, on June 17, 2022. Ash lay in a square in the war-ravaged eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk on June 17 when smoke rose from a cultural center after a Russian airstrike killed four people hiding there. The disputed city prepares for a possible street battle, with Russian troops fighting Ukrainian soldiers in Severodonetsk across the river. Thursday’s bombing sparked a fire that raged through the blue-and-white-painted Stalin-era Diamond Palace of Culture overnight and continued to burn Friday. The building contained a library, a post office, and a stage for art events. After the war started, the locals used it as a bomb shelter and a makeshift refuge for those who lost their homes. – AFP
Germany
German leader says it is necessary to keep talking with Putin.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday it is “necessary” for some leaders to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid efforts to end the war in Ukraine. He and the French president will continue to do so. Mr. Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have had several telephone conversations with Mr. Putin, separately and together, since the invasion of Russia began. Those contacts have drawn some criticism, including from the Polish president, who recently said they accomplish nothing and only serve to legitimize the Russian leader. “It is imperative to talk to Mr. Putin, and I will continue to do so – as the French president will,” Scholz told the German news agency dpa a day after he told the German news agency dpa in an English-language video. -interview. Macron and leaders of Italy and Romania held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. – AP
Russia
Putin says he has ‘nothing against’ Ukraine joining the EU.
Russia has “nothing against” Ukraine’s possible membership of the European Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday after the European Commission recommended granting Kyiv candidate status to the 27-member bloc. “We have nothing against it. It’s their sovereign decision whether or not to join economic unions… It’s their business, the business of the Ukrainian people,” Putin told Russia’s annual economic showcase, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. – AFP
Ukraine
EU Commission backs candidate status for Ukraine.
On Friday, the European Union’s executive branch recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status to one day join the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission’s recommendation is the first step on the long road to membership and comes a day after four European Union leaders pledged to support Kyiv’s candidacy. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc will discuss the recommendation at a summit in Brussels next week. Launching accession negotiations requires unanimous approval from all member states.
