The summjit between the leaders of the
EU
and those of
Ukraine
ended in
Kiev
, in which the president of the European Commission
Ursula von der Leyen
, the president of the Council of Europe
Charles Michel
and the Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky
took part .
The summit was marked by the sound of
air raid sirens
in the Ukrainian capital before it began.
Von der Leyen to Zelensky;:"Maintain the pace of reforms"
"Your determination to move forward in the EU accession process is remarkable, we will continue to support you at every step: in addition to the reforms, we need to have a good track record in implementation and every step forward will be recorded in our autumn report".
This was stated by the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in a press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky.
"I know you will keep up the pace, these reforms will anchor your country in our free world - he added - After the visit to the post office there was an air raid and we had to go to the shelter: it is symbolic, it is everyone's reality days in Ukraine".
"Whoever caused this must pay, we are exploring the different options with our partners,
MIchel: "Ukraine is Europe"
"Ukraine is Europe and Europe is Ukraine. We are not intimidated by the Kremlin and we will not be. The future of Ukraine is in the European Union. The Your destiny is our destiny and that is why we are here, to be by your side."
This was stated by the president of the EU Council Charles Michel in a press conference in Kiev with the president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky: "The EU will support our peace plan"
"During our negotiations today we discussed the implementation of our peace plan, which the EU will support, because it is the only comprehensive project to recover the security architecture in Europe destroyed by Russia".
This was stated by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a press conference with Charles Michel and Ursual von der Leyen.
"We think Russia wants to take the East. And I think we have every chance" to win.
“Our endurance depends on weapons and motivation. I think from the beginning the spirit has helped us. In some cities there may have been a relaxation and I think relaxation is a sign of weakness. We need to strengthen the spirit and remember how it all started. Our task is not to allow a revenge of the Russians, a
EU to step up efforts to use Russian frozen assets
"The EU will step up its efforts to use Russia's frozen assets in support of Ukraine's reconstruction and reparation purposes, in accordance with EU law and international law" .
This can be read in the joint declaration at the end of the EU-Ukraine summit.
Commission: Kiev starts with little preparation for accession
The Commission has published an analytical report to complement the opinion on Ukraine's EU membership application adopted on 17 June 2021 in which it assesses the country's overall ability to meet the obligations deriving from membership (the EU acquis ).
Out of the 32 points in which the document expresses evaluations, divided into five levels of preparation (ranging from "initial phase" to "advanced"), the majority fall into the first two categories (23 chapters in all).
Ukraine is described as "moderately" prepared or with a "good" level on only eight chapters.
The maximum 'vote' is never expressed.
The EU executive has also published similar reports for Moldova and Georgia.
In the reports, the Commission assessed the level of approximation of the EU acquis on the basis of the responses to questionnaires from the three candidate countries, as well as relevant information obtained in the framework of the intensive dialogues conducted over many years in the context of the association agreements, including Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas, to evaluate their implementation.
"All three candidates were evaluated on the basis of the same criteria and on their own merits," reads the accompanying note.
The Commission will report on the progress made by the three countries to address the reform priorities identified in the opinions as part of the next "enlargement package" expected in the autumn:
THE CONFLICT
According to Ukrainian authorities, the Russian military shelled Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, using
banned high-explosive cluster munitions: residents reported hearing 40 explosions.
Rbc-Ukraine writes it.
"The territory of the park and a residential area of Pokrovsk came under fire from the occupiers. As a result of about 40 explosions, more than 30 private houses and commercial buildings were damaged. Power lines and civilian vehicles were also destroyed."
The prospect of the "complete failure of the Ukrainian state" and its "inevitable end" is clearly visible
and the West will silently witness the "death" of Ukraine.
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine "awaits the sad fate" of the colonies "that were once raped in the most perverted form, and then thrown to die in the rotting dustbin of history," he added.
In his opinion, the "Kiev camarilla" is not embarrassed by the ruin of the country.
Air raid sirens rang out for two hours in Kiev before the start of the summit between the Ukrainian government and the EU Commission
.
In addition to President Ursula von der Leyen, Vice Presidents Margrethe Vestager, Valdis Dombrovskis, Vera Jourova, Marso Sefcovic, Margaritis Schinas and High Representative Josep Borrell take part in the meeting.
Also present were Paolo Gentiloni, Ylva Johansson, Janez Lenarcic, Janusz Wojciechowski, Olivér Várhelyi, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Nicolas Schmit, Didier Reynders and Mairead McGuinness.
"Back in Kiev for the EU-Ukraine summit with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell. There will be no respite in our determination - wrote the president of the European Council in a tweet,
The German government has authorized manufacturers to send Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine
.
"I can confirm that the export license has been given," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit replied at a press conference in Berlin.
So far Germany had authorized the sending of 14 Leopard 2s from Bundeswehr equipment.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Vladimir Putin has ordered his army to seize Lugansk and Donetsk regions by March
.
And on the ground there is indeed "an intensification of Russian attacks, particularly in Lugansk", Governor Sergy Gaidai declared on Ukrainian TV.
"The occupiers have become more active on the Eastern Front. Particularly in the Luhansk region, the occupiers are gathering even more reserves."
"The Russians are shutting down mobile internet in occupied Lugansk out of fear that local residents will report the movement of equipment," he added.
The number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine is approaching 200,000 after 11 months of war
, 8 times more than the number of American soldiers in two decades of conflict in Afghanistan: this is the estimate of American and Western leaders, writes the New York Times.
The latest public estimate by the Biden government dates back to November, when the chief of the joint staff Mark Milley spoke of over 100,000 dead and wounded soldiers on both sides.
The clashes at Soledar and Bakhmut caused the numbers to soar, with the sending of the less well-prepared troops to the front line.
Moscow is sending poorly trained recruits, including detainees, to the front lines in eastern Ukraine to pave the way for more experienced fighters, according to US and allied officials consulted by the NYT.
The result is that there are hundreds of people killed and injured every day.
The sources warn that casualties are notoriously difficult to estimate, particularly as Moscow is believed to regularly underestimate them.
Ukraine's casualty figures are also difficult to ascertain,
given Kiev's reluctance to disclose its wartime losses.
But even Bakhmut's Kiev sometimes saw hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers killed and wounded every day as well.