(Reuters) – Ukraine was formally accepted as a candidate for European Union membership on Thursday, a boost for morale in the war-weary country as Russian assaults wear down the defenders of two cities in the eastern Donbas region.
FIGHTING
* Ukrainian troops may need to retreat from the eastern frontline city of Lysychansk to avoid encirclement, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said.
* Ukraine said its troops were still holding out in Sievieorodonetsk, across the river.
* In Ukraine’s south, three cruise missiles hit the port city of Mykolaiv, while two more were shot down near Odesa, the Ukrainian armed forces said. Russia said it had struck Ukrainian army fuel tanks and military equipment near Mykolaiv with high-precision weapons, Interfax reported.
* Reuters was unable to independently verify the situation on the ground.
MILITARY AID
* Ukraine said it had received U.S.
supplies of powerful HIMARS long-range weapon systems that Kyiv hopes can help turn the tide on Russia’s invasion.
ECONOMY AND DIPLOMACY
* European Union leaders formally accepted Ukraine as a candidate to join the EU, a bold geopolitical move triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
* Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain is willing to help with demining off Ukraine’s coast and may offer insurance for ships to ease grain exports.
He said Russia’s “unconscionable” blockade has left the world “on the brink of a terrible food crisis”.
* The G7 rich democracies will seek to show long-term support for Ukraine at a summit starting on Sunday, even as the war’s growing impact on the world economy tests their resolve.
* Turkey said it was investigating claims that Ukrainian grain was stolen by Russia and shipped to countries including Turkey, although no stolen shipments had been found so far.
Russia has previously denied theft allegations.
* Analyst APK-Inform said Ukraine could harvest over 52 million tonnes of grain in 2022 after a better-than-expected corn harvest.
* A dozen EU countries have now been affected by cuts to gas supply from Russia, the bloc’s climate policy chief said amid a deepening energy standoff with Moscow.
* Russia said it had made interest payments on two dollar Eurobonds in roubles, as it tries to avoid a sovereign default.
TRIALS
* Ukraine held a preliminary hearing in its first trial of a Russian soldier charged with raping a Ukrainian woman during Russia’s invasion, the first of what prosecutors say could be dozens of such cases.
QUOTES
* “Ukraine’s future is in the EU,” Zelenskiy tweeted.
* “Ukraine will prevail.
Europe will prevail. Today marks the beginning of a long journey that we will walk together,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
(Compiled by Mark Heinrich and Catherine Evans)
