The EU is ready to welcome Ukraine and Kiev is on the right path for Europe. “We are by your side”. These are the reassuring messages that Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, wanted to launch during her lightning visit to the Ukrainian capital - the second since the beginning of the conflict - aimed at testifying the support of the European Union in the tragic war which for months now has been pitting Putin's Russia against Zelensky's Ukraine. The Ukrainian president himself, on Saturday, disclosed the terrible count of the dead on the battlefield: 10.000 Ukrainian soldiers have fallen since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, communicated Oleksiy Arestovich, adviser to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by the Dpa. Earlier this week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that around a hundred Ukrainian servicemen are killed every day.
Russia-Ukraine war, the second visit of Ursula von der Leyen
“We want to create a very clear road map on the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev. Von der Leyen reiterated the need to combine "investments and reforms". “I am moved and impressed by the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Bloody battles continue in the south and east but it is impressive to see how Ukrainians defend their country,” she continued. "In Kiev I see that life is returning to normal."
"This is a decisive moment not only for Ukraine but for the whole European continent: Russia wants to divide and weaken the EU. Europe is its goal”, declared the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, underlining that Kiev “awaits a positive response” from the EU on the Ukrainian candidacy. “We look forward to this support for the European summit which promises to be historic,” Zelensky added. in view of the EU Council scheduled for the end of the month.”Kiev was already on the right track before the war, it has a solid parliamentary democracy, it has a functioning administration. We see a highly digitalised country. It is a country that already has trade and association agreements. There are still reforms to be made in the field of corruption and in the administration field to attract investors”, reassured von der Leyen. “We appreciate the enormous efforts” of Kiev, he added”.
"Unfortunately the war continues and we need a seventh package of sanctions," the Ukrainian president asked her. “The activities of all Russian banks must be blocked, without distinction and in particular Gazprombank. Ukraine can export energy to European countries,” he added.
Ukraine, Biden-Zelensky question and answer
US President Joe Biden, according to the reconstruction of the Washington Post, has once again indulged in undiplomatic statements. "President Volodymyr Zelensky did not want to listen to our warnings," said the leader of the White House, attending an event organized by the Democratic party in Los Angeles on Friday 9 June. “I know many thought I was exaggerating, but I knew I had solid information to predict Putin's imminent aggression. There was no doubt, but Zelensky, like many others, would not listen.'
Zelensky's reply was not long in coming and Kiev distanced itself from the reconstruction of the American president, returning them to the sender, with a question and answer from a distance. Zelensky - is the Ukrainian response to Biden - asked Western partners for preventive sanctions against Moscow before the aggression. Sanctions that did not arrive because “Our partners did not want to hear from us,” explains presidential spokesman Sergei Nikiforov using the same expression as Biden. With the war now entering its fourth month - and with no end on the horizon - tensions are running high.
Ukraine: Kiev counteroffensive in Kherson but Luhansk increasingly in Russian hands
The Ukrainian military launched a counterattack in three directions in the Russian-occupied Kherson region. This was announced by the municipal council of the city in the south of the country, as reported by UNIAN. The attacks are carried out "in the direction of Kyselivka, Soldatske and Oleksandrivka, while the village of Tavriiske has been completely liberated".
UNIAN reported on Saturday that a Ukrainian plane had hit an enemy base and depots in five different settlements in the region, also destroying several armored vehicles and ammunition and fuel depots. The city of Kherson had been the first to fall into Russian hands at the start of the invasion of the country.
On the other front, the fall of Severodonetsk now seems near: the Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region, Gaidai, has admitted that Russian forces now control a large part of the city, even if not the Azot chemical plant. Hundreds of Ukrainian military personnel and hundreds more civilians are said to be in that plant. According to US sources quoted by the Washington Post «it is probable that Russia will acquire control of the whole Luhansk region in Ukraine within a few weeks.' This was stated by an American Defense official, quoted by the American newspaper.
