Ukraine: Ukraine accepted as European Union membership candidate; battle for Severodonetsk and Lysychansk enters last phase
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Donbas region of east Ukraine is continuing to see what he called “massive air and artillery strikes.”
“The goal of the occupiers in this direction remains the same - they want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step” he said in his nightly address.
Meanwhile, Ukraine took a major step on its long road toward European Union membership, as leaders of the bloc accepted it as a candidate to join.
Several cities, towns and villages in the Luhansk region have been the focus of severe fighting for several weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in street battles while Russian artillery fire destroys infrastructure and homes in the region.