The European Union, meeting at a summit in Brussels, endorsed Ukraine’s candidacy on Thursday, a highly symbolic step nearly four months after the invasion launched by the Russian army, which continues to advance in the east with blows. destructive bombings.
The announcement of the validation of kyiv’s candidacy, and that of Moldova, was made by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who spoke of a “historic moment”. This decision, eagerly awaited by Ukraine, marks the start of a long and complex process with a view to accession.
“This is a unique and historic moment in Ukraine-EU relations”, very quickly welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Twitter, affirming that, “the future of Ukraine lies within the EU “.
The European executive issued a favorable opinion on Ukraine’s candidacy a few days ago and on Tuesday, France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, indicated that a “total consensus” between the Twenty-Seven had emerged on this issue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who constantly repeats that his country belongs to the “European family”, conducted a veritable “telephone marathon” with European leaders to ensure a consensus in favor of yes.
He could count on the support of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who had called on European leaders to “rise to the occasion” by acceding to kyiv’s request.
This scenario, unimaginable until recently, imposed itself on the Twenty-Seven with the war waged by Russia for nearly four months against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also took advantage of a summit of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) organized on the same day as that of Brussels, to denounce the “selfish actions” of Western countries and call to a leadership of the Brics to “create a truly multipolar system”, a leitmotif of the rhetoric of the Kremlin.
Blocked for years in the antechamber of the EU, the Western Balkan countries already candidates for membership have for their part not hidden their bitterness in the face of the length of the procedures.
“It’s a good thing to give the status” of candidate to kyiv, said Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama before a meeting in Brussels with European leaders. But he advised Ukrainians “not to have any illusions” about joining soon afterwards.
“Summer will be hot”
On the ground, undermined by the firepower of the Russian artillery and aviation, the Ukrainian forces are now basing their hopes on the arrival of heavy weapons relentlessly demanded from the Western allies, such as rocket launchers. multiple American Himars.
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksiï Reznikov, announced Thursday, photo in support, the arrival of the first copies of these powerful and precise armaments, which could make it possible to repel the Russians.
“The summer will be hot for the Russian occupiers. And the last for some of them”, he threatened, without specifying how many of these mobile batteries with a range of 80 km had been delivered at this stage by the Americans.
Because for the time being, the Ukrainian forces continue to give ground in the East, in particular around the strategic twin cities of Lyssytchansk and Severodonetsk, the last pocket of resistance in the Lugansk region.
Bombarded by the Russians for weeks, Severodonetsk is a key step in their plan to conquer all of Donbass, an industrial basin in eastern Ukraine already partly held by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
The Russians “are increasing the offensives to encircle our troops”, indicated Thursday morning on Telegram Serguiï Gaïdaï, the regional governor, admitting that the enemy had conquered Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka, two localities located a few kilometers from Lyssytchansk, and attacked Syrotyne , at the gates of Severodonetsk.
Ukrainian resistance in Lysytchansk and Severodonetsk is “futile”, a representative of pro-Russian separatists said Thursday.
“At the rate our soldiers are going, very soon the entire territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic will be liberated,” Lt. Col. Andrei Marotchko told AFP by video call.
A sign of Ukraine’s difficulties in the theater of operations, the governor of the Donetsk region, further south, Pavlo Kyrylenko told AFP on Thursday that “no city” in the area under his administration was “safe” for its inhabitants, the fighting being too violent
Further north, in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, bombarded daily, the streets seemed emptied of their inhabitants on Wednesday, according to an AFP team.
The Russian army also continues to bombard the region of Mykolaiv (south), where it announced Thursday that it had notably destroyed 49 fuel reserves and three armored repair centers.
“A question of values”
According to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have likely retaken the eastern bank of the Inhoulets River, located between Mykolaiv, still held by the Ukrainians, and Kherson, further east, occupied by the Russians.
The ports of Mykolaiv and Odessa have been blocked since the beginning of the conflict, which has paralyzed the maritime transport of agricultural raw materials, the main export route for Ukraine until then.
However, a prolonged blockage could have serious consequences on food in many countries that depend on the Ukrainian grain storehouse and Russian fertilizers.
“This crisis is urgent and must be resolved within a month, otherwise the consequences could be devastating,” British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said on Thursday during a visit to Ankara, accusing Vladimir Putin of “ use hunger as a weapon” in this conflict.
The global food crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine will claim millions of victims by making large populations more vulnerable to infectious diseases, at the risk of triggering a new health crisis, warned on Thursday the head of the Global Fund, an organization that fights against the AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
Thursday’s European summit in Brussels is to be followed by another from the G7 and a third from NATO, which will be attended by US President Joe Biden. The question of financial aid to kyiv should be at the heart of the discussions of these three meetings.