Russia’s war in Ukraine – Brief News and Updates

• The heads of the 27 existing members are now debating Ukraine’s bid to join the EU. The European Parliament adopted a resolution by 529 votes to 45 calling on the leaders to approve Ukraine’s candidate status “without delay.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that EU membership is his country’s “choice of our future vision.” 

• Twelve EU countries have now been affected by Russian gas disruptions since the invasion of Ukraine. Speaking in European Parliament, EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said “Russia has weaponized energy,”. The affected countries are: Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said that “gas is from now on in short supply in Germany,” and the country is currently “in an economic confrontation with Russia.”

• Russian forces have captured ground around Lysychansk, the last city in the eastern Luhansk region still controlled by Ukraine. Adviser to the Ukrainian President’s Office Oleksiy Arestovych said on national television that “the fight for Lysychansk and Severodonetsk has entered its climax.”

• Ukrainian defense forces are under heavy munition attacks across various regions, causing civilian casualties and deaths. In the north-eastern Sumy region at least four districts were hit yesterday by cross-border shelling. In Donetsk to the east, where Ukraine controls less than half the region, several areas came under fire including the cities of Sloviansk and Bakhmut. In the south of Ukraine, Mykolaiv and Odesa were hit by cruise missiles, while villages along the Kherson-Mykolaiv border in the south have faced constant bombardment.