During a night speech, Zelensky said: In Donbass there are massive air and artillery strikes. The goal of the conquerors in this direction remains the same – they want to destroy the whole of Donbass step by step. Whole. Lysychansk, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk – aim to turn any city into Mariupol. Completely damaged. ” Zelensky also called for parity on the battlefield, calling for more heavy weapons. That is why we have repeatedly stressed the need to accelerate arms supplies to Ukraine. “We need parity on the battlefield as soon as possible to stop this diabolical armada and move it across the borders of Ukraine.” Updated at 05.49 BST
EU leaders will decide on Ukraine’s candidate status
EU leaders will decide today whether to grant Ukraine candidate status, following a positive recommendation from the European Commission last Friday. EU leaders in Brussels are expected to sign last week ‘s recommendation by the European Commission, the EU’ s executive branch. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had spoken to 11 EU leaders on Wednesday about Ukraine’s candidacy and would make more calls on Thursday, believing that all 27 EU countries would support Ukraine’s candidacy. “We deserve it,” he told crowds in Amsterdam via video link. This is a very critical moment for us, because some on my team say it ‘s like going out into the light from the dark. “As far as our army and society are concerned, this is a great motivation, a great motivation for the unity and victory of the Ukrainian people.” Expectations for a yes have risen since four EU leaders, including France and Germany, who were considered lukewarm, visited Kyiv last week in support. Zelensky applied for EU membership five days after the Russian offensive began. On the day of the explosions in Kyiv, he called for “immediate access with a new special procedure.” While the initial response from some 10 EU countries has been deeply skeptical, opposition has waned, although questions remain about the long road ahead. Ukraine has been seeking EU membership since the 2004 “orange revolution” and more persistently than the Maidan protests in 2013-14, when pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted after refusing to sign an association agreement with the bloc. Granting EU candidate status to Ukraine would be a historic decision that signals Russia that it can no longer claim a sphere of influence from its eastern neighbor, the Kiev ambassador to Brussels said. Vsevolod Chentsov, head of Ukraine’s mission to the EU, said the Russian war had united Kyiv with the bloc and ended what he called a “mistake” about whether his country could belong to the union. A poll published this week by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, found that 57% of Europeans supported Ukraine’s bid. EU candidate status, which can only be granted if the existing Member States agree unanimously, is the first step towards accession. It does not provide any security guarantees or automatic right to join the block. Ukraine’s full accession will depend on whether the war-torn country can meet political and economic conditions. Updated at 05.24 BST
Summary and welcome
Hello, Samantha Lock is back with you as we continue to report all the latest news from Ukraine. Here are all the other important developments from 8 am in Kyiv.
Russian forces are approaching the capture of the last pocket of resistance in the eastern Luhansk region of Ukraine. Sievierodonetsk and its neighboring city, Lysychansk, continue to be heavily bombed by Russians. The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said on Wednesday that Russian forces were moving towards Lysychansk, targeting police, state security and prosecutors’ buildings. Dramatic shots from Russia appeared with an unmanned aircraft flying at an oil refinery and causing an explosion in an attack inside Russia. The video, which was shared on social media, shows the drone crashing into the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov region, which would be a shameful breach of Russia’s air defense systems. At least one person has been killed in a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, according to Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych. The attack caused several fires and damaged several buildings, including a school, Senkevych said. Regional Governor Vitaly Kim said seven rockets hit Mykolaiv. Residents and workers at a nuclear plant in Enerhodar, a town in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, are being abducted by Russian occupiers, according to the region’s mayor. “Where is a stranger? “The rest are in very difficult conditions: they are being electrocuted, physically and morally intimidated,” said Mayor Dmytro Orlov. A television tower in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk controlled by Ukrainian separatists has been severely damaged by bombing and the broadcast has been suspended, the local Donetsk news agency reported. The Petrovskiy TV station remains standing, but part of its equipment has been damaged and part of its equipment has been moved, the agency said. The British secret services predict that Russia’s dynamics will slow down in the coming months. “Our defense intelligence, however, believes that in the coming months, Russia could reach a point where it can no longer move forward because it has run out of resources,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters. Leaders at the upcoming G7 summit in Germany will announce new measures to put pressure on Russia as well as new commitments to strengthen European security, a senior US official has said. “We will present a specific set of proposals to increase pressure on Russia,” the official said. The G7 is also likely to discuss the fate of a Russian turbine that is blocked in Canada and blamed for reducing gas supplies to Germany, the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources said. The Kremlin said EU sanctions that led Lithuania to block the passage of certain goods into the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad were “absolutely unacceptable”. Moscow was working in retaliation in response to “illegal sanctions” by the EU, he said. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow’s response to the Lithuanian ban would not be purely diplomatic but practical. Ukraine has reduced the chances of reaching an agreement with Russia that could allow blocked grain shipments to begin crossing the Black Sea. Consultations are underway, said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko. Russia’s Defense Ministry says Moscow and Ankara have agreed to resume talks on safe ship departures and grain exports from Ukrainian ports. The commander of Finland’s armed forces has said his country is prepared for a Russian attack and will put up strong resistance if that happens. The Finns are motivated to fight and the country has built a significant arsenal, said General Timo Kivinen, adding: “The most important line of defense is between someone’s ears.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for stronger ties with emerging economics group Brics – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – following Western sanctions on Ukraine. Putin said talks were continuing to “open Indian department stores in Russia, increasing the share of Chinese cars” in the Russian market. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Iran on Wednesday. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov’s visit was aimed at “expanding co-operation with the Eurasian region and the Caucasus.” Europe must prepare immediately for Russia to halt all gas exports to the region this winter, according to International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol. He called on governments to work to reduce demand and maintain open nuclear power plants. A Ukrainian photojournalist and a soldier accompanying him were “executed in cold blood” when they were killed in the first weeks of the Russian invasion, according to Reporters Without Borders. Maks Levin and Oleksiy Chernyshov are said to have been searching forests in Russian possession for the photographer’s lost drone, the agency said, citing findings from an investigation into their deaths.
