As E.U decision on Ukraine nears, Russia increases bombardment of Donbas
A day before a meeting of European Union
leaders, where a vote is likely on Ukraine’s candidacy to the union, Russian
forces pounded Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and the eastern Donbas
region.
The EU leaders’ two-day summit began Thursday
in Brussels. Olha Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and
Euro-Atlantic integration, told The Associated Press the vote could come as
soon as Thursday.
Last week, the European Commission formally
recommended EU-candidate status for Ukraine and its smaller neighbor, Moldova.
On Wednesday, Stefanishyna said she was “100pc” confident that Ukraine would be
accepted as an EU candidate.
The candidacy status is just the first step
toward joining the 27-member group. Ukraine will need to meet political and
economic conditions, such as standards on democratic principles.
Stefanishyna told AP she thought Ukraine
could be an EU member within years. Some European officials have suggested it
could take decades.
“We’re already very much integrated in the
European Union,” she told AP. “We want to be a strong and competitive member
state, so it may take from two to 10 years.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in
his nightly video address to the nation that he had spoken to 11 European Union
leaders on Wednesday about Ukraine's candidacy and would make more calls on
Thursday.
Earlier, he voiced his optimism at joining
the EU, saying he believed all 27 EU countries would support Ukraine's
candidate status.
Meanwhile, Kharkiv region Governor Oleh
Synehubov said shelling of the residential districts of Kharkiv and other towns
in the region had continued unabated.
"There is no letup in the shelling of
civilians by the Russian occupiers," he wrote on the Telegram messaging
app. "This is evidence that we cannot expect the same scenario as in
Chernihiv or Kyiv, with Russian forces withdrawing under pressure."
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy
Arestovych said in a video address that Russian forces were hitting Kharkiv
"with the aim of terrorizing the population" and forcing Ukraine to
divert troops, Reuters reported.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy had warned that Russia
was likely to intensify its attacks this week, ahead of the EU action.
"Obviously, we expect Russia to
intensify hostile activity this week. … We are preparing. We are ready,” he
said.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday of Russia’s heavy
air and artillery strikes in the eastern Donbas: “Step by step they want to
destroy all of the Donbas. All of it."
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesperson
Oleksandr Motuzianyk told AP that in some battles, for every artillery shell
that Ukrainian forces fire, the Russian army fires at least six.
Also, Microsoft reported Wednesday, Russian
intelligence agencies have conducted multiple efforts to hack the computer
networks of Ukraine’s allies.
"The cyber aspects of the current war
extend far beyond Ukraine and reflect the unique nature of cyberspace,"
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in the report.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not
immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. In the past,
Moscow has denied conducting foreign cyber espionage missions, saying it
"contradicts the principles of Russian foreign policy."
Since the conflict began four months ago,
Ukrainian entities have been attacked by Russian state-backed hacking groups,
Microsoft reported.
Researchers found 128 organizations in 42
countries outside Ukraine had been targeted by the same groups in
espionage-focused hacks, the report found.
Nearly two-thirds of the cyberespionage
targets involved NATO members, researchers found.
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