Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday night that he feared “Russia will intensify attacks this week” ahead of the discussion on Ukraine’s bid for EU membership.
This Monday “a truly historic week begins,” Zelensky proclaimed, in his daily video speech, in which Ukraine will have an “EU response on candidate status”.
“Since 1991, there have been few decisions as vital for Ukraine as the one we await today,” he added, saying he was “convinced that only a positive response is in the interest of the whole of Europe.”
The European Commission (EC) recommended last Friday to the Council grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership”On the assumption that action will be taken in a number of areas.”
“We have a clear message, which is: yes, Ukraine deserves the European perspective, and yes, Ukraine should be welcomed as a candidate country,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Brussels.
Portugal will follow the opinion of the European Commission for this status to be granted to Ukraine, announced last Friday the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, after a day of hearings with the parties with parliamentary representation on this matter.
EU member states meet on Thursday and Friday to decide whether to officially grant Ukraine accession candidate status, something that requires unanimity of all 27.
Until then, “obviously, we expect Russia to intensify attacks this week,” Volodymyr Zelensky warned. “We are ready,” he added.
The Ukrainian leader said the Russians are “regrouping their forces towards Kharkiv.” [nordeste] and in the Zaporizhia region [sul]”. And he added: “They are still bombing our fuel infrastructure.”
“We will respond to these attacks,” Zelensky said, although he admitted “significant losses.” “Our army is resisting”said.
[Os russos] they tried a breakthrough in the Toshkivka area, they were partially successful, but our artillery worked and we can say that the breakthrough attempt was unsuccessful,” said Sergey Gaidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region.
In Lysychansk, there are signs of preparations for street fighting, with soldiers digging trenches and putting up barbed wire and police placing burning vehicles in the streets to stop advancing Russian forces.
The Russian Ministry of Defense on Sunday claimed responsibility for the capture of Metolkine, on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, and claimed to have attacked a factory in Mykolaiv.in the south, having destroyed “ten 155mm M777 howitzers and up to 20 armored vehicles supplied to the kyiv regime by the West.”
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine, which was condemned by much of the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia.
Source: Observadora
