The European Commission has recommended that Ukraine be granted European Union candidate status, its president, Ursula von der Leyen, said during a press conference on Friday, a day after the bloc's most powerful leaders visited Kyiv. The humanitarian situation across Ukraine and particularly in the eastern Donbas region is “extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate”, the United Nations said on Friday. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for the latest updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
3:56pm: Putin's speech was really a 'house of cards'
"It's classic Putin; it looks very strong on the surface, it seems combative," FRANCE 24's Nick Holdsworth reported. "Actually it's all projection; it's a house of cards, to tell you the truth. He's blaming everything on the West -- this is absolutely typical -- he starts by talking about his favourite subjects, the end of the unipolar world, saying the US and the West [...] now they're suffering from the arrogance and trying to call the shots the last 30 years."
"He said the invasion of Ukraine had been launched in the Donbas to protect the Donbas," Holdsworth noted. "So not talking about Ukraine any more."
3:54pm: 'A great decision' on Ukraine candidate status
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recommending candidate status for Ukraine is a "historic decision" and "the result, of course, of the current situation in Ukraine and this war of invasion and political and geopolitical reasons have prevailed", said Thornike Gordadze, a Berlin-based senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
In "previous waves of enlargement", he continued, or "granting candidate status to other countries, at first there were conditions and then the status was granted". But in the present case of Ukraine, "things are done differently, and this is the kind of geopolitical thinking that is prevailing in [the] European Union, because we heard already that Ukraine has a long way before [it] gets all the conditions done in terms of the fight against corruption, rule of law etc. but this is a great decision because it compensates Ukraine".
3:42pm: Putin says decision to launch 'special operation' in Ukraine was difficult but needed
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia's decision to launch what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine was difficult but needed.
Putin made the comment in a speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Russia says it sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 to demilitarise the country and rid it out nationalists threatening Russian speakers there. Ukraine and Western countries say Russia's claims are baseless pretext to attack.
3:14pm: Putin says sanctions 'blitzkrieg' never had a chance of succeeding
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday that a sanctions "blitzkrieg" against Moscow had never had any chance of succeeding.
Western allies led by the EU and US have imposed the most severe economic sanctions that any nation has faced in modern history since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Putin said the EU could lose more than $400 billion due to the sanctions, which he said would rebound on those who had imposed them.
2:22pm: Ukraine to introduce visas for Russians, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday that Kyiv intends to introduce visas for Russians from July 1, four months into Moscow's invasion of his country.
"Ukraine is introducing a visa regime for citizens of the Russian Federation," Zelensky said on his Telegram account. He said the requirement would take effect on "July 1, 2022", according to a government decision that he expected "today".
The move will end visa-free travel for Russians that began when Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.
12:42pm: Eurovision 2023 cannot be held in Ukraine, European Broadcasting Union says
The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest cannot be held in Ukraine given the ongoing war in the European country, the European Broadcasting Union said Friday, adding that it was in talks with the BBC to host it in the UK.
“The security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host, organize and produce the Eurovision Song Contest under the ESC Rules cannot be fulfilled" by Ukraine's public broadcaster, the Eurovision Song Contest said on Twitter.
“The EBU would like to thank (Ukraine’s public broadcaster) UA:PBC for their wholehearted cooperation and commitment in exploring all scenarios in the weeks since Kalush Orchestra’s win on 14 May in Turin and share their sadness and disappointment that next year’s Contest cannot be held in Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won this year’s contest last month, with the UK’s entry coming in second.
12:06pm: European Commission recommends EU 'candidate status' for Ukraine
The European Commission proposes to give Ukraine the status of a candidate for European Union membership, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, adding that this was on understanding that Ukraine carry out number of reforms.
“Ukraine has clearly demonstrated the country’s aspiration and the country’s determination to live up to European values and standards,” she told reporters in Brussels.
For her statement, von der Leyen wore Ukraine’s colours, a yellow blazer over a blue shirt.
“We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us for the European dream,” she said.
Leaders of EU countries are expected to endorse the decision at a summit next week. The leaders of the bloc's three largest economies – Germany, France and Italy – had signalled their solidarity on Thursday by visiting Kyiv, along with the president of Romania.
Von der Leyen announced that the European Commission also recommended granting candidate status for Moldova, Ukraine’s ex-Soviet neighbour, but held off on taking the same step on Georgia.
10:28am: Macron sceptical on deal to get grain out of Ukraine's Odesa port
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he was open to talking to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as part of efforts to strike a deal to get grain out of the Ukrainian port of Odesa but that he saw little chance of an agreement.
“We have to talk with Russia on food security and (discussions) can be justified by liaising directly with the UN secretary-general to get grains out of Odesa,” Macron told BFM TV on his way back from Ukraine.
“But I don’t believe a lot in this path, because I already had talks a few weeks ago with President Putin, but he didn’t want to accept a UN resolution on this subject,” he said.
10:09am: Evacuation of Severodonetsk chemical plant 'impossible' without ceasefire
Only a “complete ceasefire” will allow the evacuation of hundreds of civilians sheltering in a chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, the site of heavy fighting with Russia, the regional governor said Friday.
“It is now impossible and physically dangerous to get out of the (Severodonetsk chemical Azot) plant due to constant shelling and fighting. There are 568 people in the shelter, including 38 children,” Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Telegram.
9:44am: Humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine 'extremely alarming', UN says
The United Nations on Friday said the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine is "extremely alarming" and continues to deteriorate, four months into the Russian invasion.
"Nearly four months since the start of the war, the humanitarian situation across Ukraine – particularly in the eastern Donbas – is extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate rapidly," the UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, said in a statement.
It said the situation is "particularly worrying in and around Severodonetsk" – the eastern Ukrainian city where bloody battles have raged for weeks. Hundreds of civilians are believed to be trapped in the city, with some sheltering in the local chemical plant. The UN said there is "diminishing access to clean water, food, sanitation and electricity" in the city, the statement said.
It said that as "active hostilities continued to escalate" in eastern Ukraine, the war is "taking an enormous toll on civilians, including aid workers".
"Despite enormous access challenges, the UN and humanitarian partners have reached over 8.8 million people across Ukraine since the war started," it added.
6:55am: European Commission to give fast-tracked opinion on Ukraine's EU membership bid
The European Commission will meet Friday to give its fast-tracked opinion on Ukraine's bid for European Union candidacy, which would be a step closer to membership for the country a day after the bloc's most powerful leaders visited Kyiv as it continues to battle Russia's invasion.
Never before has an opinion been given so quickly on EU candidacy, which must be approved by all 27 member states.
The opinion will serve as a basis for discussion at next week's EU summit, where leaders are expected to approve Ukraine's candidate status, but with stern conditions attached, and membership may take years or even decades.
France, Germany, Italy and Romania are all in favour of Ukraine receiving "immediate" candidate status, French President Emmanuel Macron said in Kyiv on Thursday.
1:05am: Russia has 'strategically lost' Ukraine war, UK armed forces chief says
Russia has already "strategically lost" its war with Ukraine, suffering heavy losses and strengthening NATO, the United Kingdom's chief of defence staff said in an interview published Friday.
"This is a dreadful mistake by Russia. Russia will never take control of Ukraine," said Tony Radakin, the country's highest-ranking military officer, adding it would emerge a "more diminished power".
The admiral said Russian President Vladimir Putin may achieve "tactical successes" in the weeks to come, but had sacrificed a quarter of his country's army power for "tiny" gains and was running out of troops and high-tech missiles.
"Russia is failing," he said.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS and AFP)
