Ukrainian forces were “doing everything” to stop the Russian offensive, with fierce battles in the east and the south, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made an unannounced visit to Kyiv.
The Ukrainian military on Friday said it had launched new airstrikes in the captured southern region of Kherson, one of the first areas to be taken by Russia after the Feb. 24 invasion.
Zelenskiy said that “very difficult battles” were ongoing, including in the eastern Donbas region where Moscow has concentrated its firepower, especially near Severodonetsk.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Ukrainian troops are doing everything to stop the offensive of the occupiers,” Zelenskiy said.
Von der Leyen was to hold talks with Zelenskiy on the country’s request to join the EU and its rebuilding after the war.
“We will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and of progress made by Ukraine as it pursues its European path,” she said. “This will feed into our assessment, which we will present soon.”
The commission is on Friday expected to recommend that Ukraine be granted candidate status to join the bloc, starting a process that could last more than a decade in which the country must adopt EU rules and standards.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said its partners had not heeded its plea for pre-emptive sanctions that could have persuaded Russia to withdraw troops before Feb. 24.
The comment from the president’s office was a response to US President Joe Biden, who on Friday said that Zelenskiy had brushed off his warnings about an imminent invasion.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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