Here are the latest developments from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict on June 24, 2022
Here are the latest developments from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict on June 24, 2022
The European Union agreed on Thursday to put Ukraine on a path toward EU membership, acting with uncharacteristic speed and unity to pull the embattled country further away from Russia’s influence and bind it more closely to the West. Meeting at a summit in Brussels, leaders of the EU’s 27 nations mustered the required unanimous approval to grant Ukraine candidate status. That sets in motion a membership process that could take years or even decades.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his gratitude and declared: “Ukraine’s future is within the EU.” “It’s a victory. We have been waiting for 120 days and 30 years,” he said on Instagram, referring to the duration of the war and the decades since Ukraine became independent upon the breakup of the Soviet Union. “And now we will defeat the enemy.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian forces took control of the villages of Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka, and were trying to capture Syrotyne, a settlement outside the province’s administrative center, Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai told The Associated Press that the Russians were “burning everything out” in their offensive to encircle Ukraine’s fighters.
“The Russians are advancing without trying to spare the ammunition or troops, and they aren’t running out of either,” Haidai said. “They have an edge in heavy artillery and the number of troops.”
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Brussels
EU leaders to debate economy woes
On the second day of a European Union summit in Brussels, the leaders of the 27 nations will place the blame for a spike in inflation and sagging growth across the globe squarely on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began four months ago to the day.
They will also call on the EU’s executive to come up with energy supply solutions in response to Moscow’s “weaponisation” of gas imports now that a dozen European countries have been thumped by cuts in critical supplies from Russia. – Reuters
Kyiv
Ukrainian forces will have to leave embattled Sievierodonetsk: Governor
Ukrainian troops will “have to be withdrawn” from the mostly Russian-occupied battleground city of Sievierodonetsk, the regional governor said on television on Friday.
“Remaining in positions smashed to pieces over many months just for the sake of staying there does not make sense,” Governor Serhiy Gaidai said. – Reuters
Kyiv
Russians advance on war’s front line in eastern Ukraine
The Russian military extended its grip on territory in eastern Ukraine as it seeks to cut supply lines and encircle frontline Ukrainian forces, while the Ukrainian military announced Thursday the arrival of powerful U.S. multiple-launch rocket systems it hopes will offer a battlefield advantage.
Ukrainian forces withdrew from some areas near the city of Lysychansk to avoid being surrounded as Russians sent in reinforcements and concentrated their firepower in the area, Britain’s Defense Ministry said. The city is located in Luhansk province, a major battlefield in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. – AP
Kyiv
Russia captures Donbas villages around Severodonetsk
Ukraine said Thursday that its troops lost control over two settlements in the eastern Donbas region where it is fighting fiercely to retain control of the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
“We lost control over Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka,” said the Lugansk regional governor, Sergiy Gaiday, referring to two hamlets south east of Lysychansk.
ALSO READ: Severodonetsk | Battle for the Donbas
Their capture puts Russian troops deeper in the Donbas region where they appear closer to encircling the two urban hubs which are separated by the Donets river. – AFP