Situation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: the point on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Ukraine was suspended Friday from the verdict of the European Commission, which must give its opinion on the status of candidate for the EU of the country at war, a way for kyiv to protect itself by integrating the “European family”. “Ukraine is part of the European family,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wanted to reassure during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday with his Italian and French counterparts, heavyweights of the EU.
The French, German and Italian leaders as well as their Romanian counterpart said on Thursday that they were ready to grant “immediately” to Ukraine the status of candidate for membership of the European Union. “All four of us support immediate candidate status for membership,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “The status of candidate for entry into the European Union for Ukraine can strengthen freedom in Europe and become one of the key European decisions of the first third of the 21st century”, pleaded President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday evening.
Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, also gave her voice on the subject of membership, in a video message to the WomenNow conference on Thursday: airlines – to be invited to Europe no longer as refugees but as allies”. “These people are not only fighting for their own benefit, but also to prevent the aggressor from coming to Europe,” she argued. Whatever the sensitivity of the Commission to this idea of a Ukraine as a bulwark against Moscow, the main difficulty will remain to succeed next week in achieving unanimity within the EU – the countries of Eastern Europe , sensitive to the threat at their borders being rather for, others like Denmark or the Netherlands reserved.
The Twenty-Seven must indeed decide, during a summit on June 23 and 24, if they grant Ukraine this official status of candidate, the start of negotiations which could last for years. But, beyond the political and economic benefits in the more or less long term (with the initiation of significant financial aid intended to support reforms and reconstruction), in the short term, that of the war, an acceptance of his candidacy would have an eminently symbolic dimension for kyiv, of belonging to the “European family”, a family which protects its members. The recommendation of the European Commission, expected Friday during the day, will therefore be a strong signal launched in kyiv – and in Moscow.
Military support
An accepted candidacy from Ukraine would also raise the question of its membership of Defense Europe, while the French and German leaders have pledged to continue their military support for kyiv.
France is preparing to deliver six self-propelled guns to Ukraine, adding to the 12 already delivered, adding to the new billion-dollar tranche of US military aid. But “membership of the European Union is subject to clear rules which must be respected by all”, however recalled Mr. Scholz during his visit, even if the express examination of the candidacy of kyiv, submitted in February , is of an unprecedented speed, justified by the war.
G7, first outing for Zelensky
In the wake of the European summit which will decide the fate of his application for EU membership, Mr. Zelensky will be able to continue to plead his case at the next G7 summit, which will be held from June 26 to 28 in Bavaria. This will be his first outing from Ukrainian territory since the start of the Russian invasion in late February. Ukrainian forces remain in difficulty in the Donbass, a region in the east of the country partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, which Moscow has set itself the goal of conquering.
The fighting has been concentrated for several weeks on Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk, two key cities for the control of Donbass, subjected to constant bombardments. About 10,000 civilians are still present in Severodonetsk, according to the Ukrainian authorities. “We trust in the will of God, in the help of God, in the help of all the saints and of the Virgin Mary,” lists Sister Anastasia, who lives in a community of Orthodox nuns near the nearby town of Sloviansk.
She points to a large crater left by a missile launch in the middle of the garden. Beyond the neighboring fields are the Russian forces, which exchange artillery fire with the Ukrainian army. The US State Department announced on Thursday that a third American was missing in Ukraine, in addition to two former US servicemen who were reportedly captured by Russian troops. The United States on Thursday urged Russia to consider any American volunteer fighter captured in Ukraine as a prisoner of war and to guarantee them humane treatment.
Russia has “already lost strategically” its war in Ukraine and “will never take control” of the country, said British Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Tony Radakin. “President Putin has used 25% of the power of his army to reap tiny territorial gains,” said the soldier in remarks reported by the British agency PA on Friday.