Heavy fighting is taking place in the Donbas
European Commission to announce Ukraine’s EU candidate status on June 17
Heavy fighting is taking place in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces in the city of Severodonetsk are under heavy Russian bombardment.
The British Defense Ministry said in a daily intelligence bulletin on June 17 that the Russian army had been trying to gain an advantage over the last 24 hours along Popasna, 55 km south of Severodonetsk. From here, they try to besiege the city.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on the evening of June 16 that heavy fighting took place in and around Severodonetsk and Lisichansk. Lisichansk Siverski is located on the opposite side of the Donets River.
Up to 12,000 civilians
The battle in Severodonetsk has been going on for several weeks. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski He said the war would decide the fate of the Donbas region. If Moscow captures Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, Luhansk will take full control.
Lugansk military governor Sergey Qayday Severodonetsk, with a population of 100,000 before the war, said about 10,000 residents were left without essential supplies. Most of the civilians took refuge in bunkers under the nitrogen chemical plant.
Mayor of Severodonetsk Oleksandr Stryuk On June 16, he told Ukrainian television that there were about 500 civilians in the plant’s shelters.
The United Nations says about 12,000 civilians remain in the city.
At least three people were killed and at least seven were injured in a rocket attack on a building housing civilians in Lisichansk on June 16. This information was also announced by Qayday.
Artillery advantage
Meanwhile, in other parts of the front line, Ukrainian troops are said to have stopped Russia’s advance. In Kharkov, Russian troops blocked Ukrainian forces with artillery.
Four people were killed and six others were injured in a Russian missile strike in northeastern Sumy.
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov He told CNN that “tens of thousands” of Ukrainians have died since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Reznikov said he “hoped” that figure would be less than 100,000.
Britain has said it will provide Ukraine with 20 volleys. Minister of Defense Ben Vallas confirmed that the systems will be sent to Ukraine. He noted that in some places Russia is 20 times superior to the Ukrainian army in artillery.
An opinion is expected on granting candidate status to Ukraine
On June 17, the European Commission is due to release its accelerated opinion on Ukraine’s EU candidate status.
So far, no country’s opinion on the status of a candidate has been announced so quickly. The opinion must be approved by the 27 member states of the bloc.
According to sources in the commission, the German agency dpa is expected to support the candidacy of both Ukraine and Moldova.
Based on this opinion, discussions will be held at the EU summit on June 23-24. Member states are expected to confirm Ukraine’s candidate status, but will impose stricter conditions. Membership can take years or even decades.
Immediately after Russia’s occupation on February 24, Zelensky formally applied for Ukraine’s EU membership. After that, Moldova and Georgia took the same step.
Dpa quotes sources as saying that Georgia’s candidate status can be granted only after certain conditions are met.