Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his forces would stay in war-torn Bakhmut for as long as possible, as he hosted a summit with EU heads of state, which bolstered Kyiv’s push for reforms needed to join the bloc. Appreciated.
EU chief Charles Michel, on his second visit in less than three weeks, reiterated his support for Kyiv’s integration with Brussels, saying “Ukraine is the EU, the EU is Ukraine”.
The symbolic summit took place as Zelensky pressed for early entry into the European Union as Ukraine fends off Russia’s nearly one-year invasion.
The Ukrainian leader urged the West to supply Kyiv with more sophisticated weapons to help his forces maintain control of Bakhmut, the city at the center of the fighting and where Russia is applying the hardest pressure.
“No one will surrender to Bakhmut. We will fight as long as we can,” said the Ukrainian leader, standing side by side with Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, describing the city as a “fortress”.
Zelensky said, “If weapons (delivery) are accelerated – long-range weapons – we will not only retreat from Bakhmut, we will begin to occupy Donbass.”
In June last year, just months after the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine, the EU granted candidate status to Kyiv, but the path to full membership is likely to be difficult and could take years.
‘No timeline’ on EU membership
The European Union acknowledged in a statement on Friday that Ukraine had made “substantial efforts” to move towards membership, but urged Kyiv to implement more reforms.
Corruption is a major European concern and Ukraine’s efforts to tackle corruption have been widely publicized this week with highly publicized raids targeting oligarchs with political connections and a former interior minister.
Von der Leyen said, “You are at war, and while at war, and defending your country against the aggressor, you are able to deliver one thing after another that is necessary to move forward.”
But he cautioned that the accession process was merit-based and said “no hard timelines” could be placed on Ukrainian membership or negotiations.
Zelensky has made it clear that he wants Ukraine to join as soon as possible and has said that he wants to start discussions this year.
“Our goal is very clear: to start negotiations on Ukraine’s membership,” he said on Friday. “We will not lose a single day in our work to bring Ukraine and the European Union together.”
He appealed to EU member states and Washington for more weapons, while in Bakhmut, the front line of a protracted battle between Ukrainian and Russian forces, there was no let-up in fighting.
Throughout Friday morning, AFP reporters heard small arms fire and mortar shells from Russian positions.
‘Shrapnel in my leg’
Smoke could be seen billowing from the city center behind the golden-domed All Saints Church and Ukrainian helicopters flew low over the frozen countryside to the northwest towards Bakhmut.
A charity helping residents in the war-torn city said one person was killed and several others were injured in an attack on a car carrying volunteer paramedics a day earlier.
A police official said an investigation was underway but it could take several days to determine the victim’s identity following reports that foreign nationals were involved.
Alexander Tkachenko, 65, said he and three other locals rushed to help when the car was hit and managed to pull an injured woman out of the vehicle.
He said it was clear that the car destroyed in the attack was not a military target.
The local people involved in the rescue were also not soldiers, he said, but they too came under attack and were injured in a second attack as they tried to help.
“I don’t know how we didn’t get separated. I got shrapnel in my leg,” Tkachenko said, limping to a community center with the help of a walking stick.
Kremlin downplays the risk of sanctions
To compensate Ukraine for damage caused across the country since February last year, the European Union vowed to step up efforts to remove Russia’s frozen assets for use as compensation.
Von der Leyen announced in Kyiv this week that the EU planned to introduce its next package of sanctions on February 24 to coincide with the anniversary of the invasion.
And he estimated that an oil price cap is costing Moscow about 160 million euros every day.
Separately, an EU ban on some Russian oil products – such as diesel, gasoline and jet fuel – is due to take effect on Sunday, along with G7 price caps on these products.
The Kremlin warned on Friday that these measures would destabilize world markets rather than affect only Russia.
“This will lead to further imbalances in international energy markets, but we are taking measures to protect our interests against the risks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Kyiv has won promises from the West to deliver modern battle tanks to fight the Russian army and is now seeking long-range missiles and fighter jets.
A German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin has authorized the transfer of 1 Leopard tank to Ukraine, in an announcement to send the weapons that came after months of deliberations.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)