AFP

European Union leaders met in Brussels on Monday seeking to overcome Hungarian opposition to an embargo on Russian oil, as Moscow’s forces made gains in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to address leaders at the emergency summit, expected to press the block “to kill Russian exports” as he seeks to crank up international pressure on Moscow.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden said he would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could hit Russian territory, despite urgent requests from Kyiv for such weapons and extensive US military aid for Ukraine since the war began.

EU diplomats have drafted a watered-down agreement that would see pipeline oil exempted from the ban, in the hopes of unblocking talks on the bloc’s sixth round of Russian sanctions.

Ahead of the meeting, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters the proposal was a “good solution” but warned there was “no agreement at all” as things stood.

On the ground, Russian forces pressed their offensive in Donbas.

The situation in Severodonetsk, just across the Donets river from its sister city of Lysychansk, was “very difficult”, the local Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.

“The Russians are advancing into the middle of Severodonetsk”, while the fighting continued, Gaiday said.

– Weapons supplies –

“We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia,” Biden told reporters in Washington.

Ukraine has received extensive US military aid since with legislators approving another $40 billion (37.1 billion euros) assistance package earlier in May.

France’s new foreign minister Catherine Colonna said on a visit to Kyiv that Paris was ready to boost military aid to Ukraine to help it counter Russia’s invasion.

France will “continue to reinforce arms deliveries,” Colonna said at a news conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

The arms would arrive “in the coming weeks”, she said.

The highest-ranking French official to visit the capital since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Colonna also visited the town of Bucha, where Russian troops have been accused of committing war crimes against the civilian population.

“This should never have happened. It must never happen again,” Colonna told reporters after visiting an Orthodox church in the town.

The foreign minister’s visit came as a French journalist was killed while working in Ukraine.

Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was “on board a humanitarian bus” when “he was mortally wounded,” French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on Monday.

– Oil sanctions –

Speaking alongside Colonna, Kuleba said he hoped “divisions will be overcome” at the EU leaders meeting.

A sixth wave of EU measures against Moscow was put on the table weeks ago, but has been rejected by Orban and resisted by neighbouring countries also reliant on pipelined Russia oil.

Macron cautiously told reporters that a long-sought-after deal was “getting closer”, but others doubted that the Hungarian leader was ready to sign on at this stage.

“I don’t think we’ll reach an agreement today,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said at a political meeting ahead of the summit

Hungary has asked for at least four years and 800 million euros ($860 million) in EU funds to adapt its refineries and increase pipeline capacity for alternative suppliers, like Croatia.

But under the compromise proposal the Druzhba pipeline could be excluded from a sanctions package “for the time being”, an EU official told AFP.

– ‘We’re close!’ –

Since failing to capture Kyiv in the war’s early stages, Russia’s army has narrowed its focus, hammering Donbas cities with relentless artillery and missile barrages as it seeks to consolidate its control.

But Ukrainian forces pushed back over the weekend in the southern region of Kherson, the country’s military leadership said.

The Ukrainian general staff claimed the move had put their adversary into “unfavourable positions” around the villages of Andriyivka, Lozovo and Bilohorka and forced Moscow to send reserves to the area.

“Kherson, hold on. We’re close!” it tweeted Sunday.

At the same time, two people were injured following an explosion in the Moscow-controlled city of Melitopol in south-eastern Ukraine, with local pro-Kremlin authorities blaming Kyiv.

Russia-installed authorities said the city had been targeted by a “terrorist attack”.

“The Ukrainian government continues its war on the civilian population and the infrastructure of cities,” a statement said.

At least five people died following strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, according to Russian investigators.

Authorities in the DNR said on Telegram that two apartment blocks and three schools were hit in the attack, accusing Kyiv of using artillery and rockets with cluster munitions.

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Russian forces edged toward the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk Monday, while President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to appeal to EU leaders at an emergency summit where a ban on Russian oil imports is on the agenda. 

Zelensky is expected to press EU officials at the summit “to kill Russian exports” as he seeks to crank up international pressure on Moscow.

Member states are searching for a compromise on a sixth round of sanctions, which has been delayed by resistance from within the bloc, namely from Hungary.

Meanwhile, Russia forces continued their push in the eastern Donbas region, upping the pressure on the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

Since failing to capture Kyiv in the war’s early stages, Russia’s army has narrowed its focus, hammering cities with relentless artillery and missile barrages as it seeks to consolidate its control.

The situation in Severodonetsk, just across the Donets river from Lysychansk, was “very difficult”, the local Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.

“The Russians are advancing into the middle of Severodonetsk”, while the fighting continued, Gaiday said.

– Pressure on the east –

While Russia concentrated its efforts in the east, Ukrainian forces pushed back over the weekend in the southern region of Kherson, the country’s military leadership said.

At the same time, two people were injured following an explosion in the Moscow-controlled city of Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine, with local pro-Kremlin authorities said pinning the blame on Kyiv.

Newly appointed French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also made the journey to the Ukrainian capital Monday for talks with Zelensky.

The highest-ranking French official to visit Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Colonna also visited the town of Bucha, where Russian troops have been accused of committing war crimes against the civilian population.

In the eastern Donbas region, Moscow’s forces were making slow progress towards taking the city of Severodonetsk.

Zelensky, in his daily address Sunday, described a scene of devastation in Severodonetsk. 

“All critical infrastructure has already been destroyed… More than two-thirds of the city’s housing stock has been completely destroyed,” he said. 

– ‘Constant shelling’ –

In Severodonetsk, where an estimated 15,000 civilians remain, a local official said “constant shelling” made it increasingly difficult to get in or out while the water supply is increasingly unstable.

Ukrainian forces counterattacked in the region of Kherson, the only region of the country fully controlled by Russian troops.

Russia gained control over most of Kherson, which borders Crimea, in the early stages of the war and Moscow-backed officials in the region have recently pushed for annexation.

While limited in nature, the attack could have the effect of stretching Russian forces. 

The Ukrainian general staff claimed the move had put their adversary into “unfavourable positions” around the villages of Andriyivka, Lozovo and Bilohorka and forced Moscow to send reserves to the area.

“Kherson, hold on. We’re close!” it tweeted Sunday.

In Melitopol, Russia-installed authorities said in a statement the city had been targeted by a “terrorist attack”.

According to the statement, car packed with explosives exploded in the city centre, injuring two “humanitarian aid” volunteers, a 28-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man.

“The Ukrainian government continues its war on the civilian population and the infrastructure of cities,” the officials said.

– Oil sanctions –

A new, sixth round of European sanctions has been held up by Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has close relations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

EU ambassadors made a final push ahead of the summit to persuade Hungary to accept a watered-down oil embargo against Russia.

The landlocked country is heavily dependent on Russian crude oil supplied via the Druzhba pipeline.

Hungary has asked for at least four years and 800 million euros ($860 million) in EU funds to adapt its refineries and increase pipeline capacity for alternative suppliers, like Croatia.

But under the compromise proposal the Druzhba pipeline could be excluded from a sanctions package “for the time being”, an EU official told AFP.

– ‘New face’ –

Meanwhile Zelensky on Sunday made his first visit to the embattled east since the start of the war, walking the streets of the Kharkiv region’s devastated capital in a bullet-proof vest.

While in Kharkiv, Zelensky discussed reconstruction plans with local officials, saying there was a chance for areas wrecked by Russian attacks to “have a new face”.

Despite an estimated 2,000 apartment blocks having been wholly or partially destroyed by shelling, the city has returned to a degree of normality in recent weeks.

While one-third of the northeastern region remains under Russian control, “we will for sure liberate the entire area,” the Ukrainian president said after the visit.

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After weeks of explosive testimony, the jury is finally deliberating in the defamation case between actors Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp filed suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”

Heard did not name Depp in the piece, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.

Heard countersued for $100 million, claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse.”

Here are some of the key talking points from the blockbuster trial.

– The severed fingertip –

Hours of testimony during the six-week trial were devoted to a grisly incident in March 2015 in Australia, where Depp was filming the fifth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

The tip of Depp’s right-hand middle finger was severed during a heated argument with Heard at their rented home.

Depp said it occurred when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.

Heard said she did not know how it happened but it may have been when he smashed a wall-mounted phone.

Both agreed though that Depp used his bloody digit to scrawl cryptic messages on walls, lampshades and mirrors in the home.

– Poop on the bed –

Among many bizarre incidents cited during the trial was a story about feces deposited one day on Depp’s side of the couple’s bed.

Depp said he was shown a photograph of “human fecal matter” on the bed after he and Heard argued during her 30th birthday party.

Heard tried to blame it on their dogs, Depp said, but “they’re teacup Yorkies, they weigh about four pounds each.”

Heard said the dog had bowel problems after eating some of Depp’s marijuana as a puppy.

As for the dogs, Heard accused Depp of once holding one of them out of the window of a moving car while “howling like an animal.”

The dog was unhurt.

– The witnesses –

Both sides presented multiple witnesses although rumored testimony by billionaire Elon Musk, Heard’s ex-boyfriend, and her co-star James Franco ultimately did not materialize.

But there were celebrity appearances.

Kate Moss, Depp’s former girlfriend, shot down a longstanding rumor he had once thrown the British model down a flight of stairs.

Moss said by videolink that it never happened.

Actress Ellen Barkin, another ex-girlfriend, testified Depp was jealous, controlling, and drunk “a lot of the time,” and once threw a wine bottle in a hotel room.

Other witnesses included bodyguards, agents, business managers, psychiatrists, doctors, friends, relatives, and even the former doorman of the luxury penthouse complex where the couple once lived in Los Angeles.

Doorman Alejandro Romero probably spoke for many involved in the case when he said: “I am so stressed out. I don’t want to deal with this anymore.”

– The evidence –

Audio and video recordings of heated, profanity-laced arguments between Depp and Heard were also entered into evidence.

In one video recorded by Heard in their kitchen, Depp is seen shouting, smashing glass cabinets and pouring himself an enormous glass of red wine.

Both Depp and Heard submitted photos of injuries they claimed were inflicted by the other.

Heard’s lawyers also presented photos purporting to show Depp passed out after drinking excessively or using drugs.

Text messages between Depp and various people were displayed in which he described in crude and violent language what he would like to see happen to Heard.

Depp’s lawyers downplayed the texts, saying he just had a colorful way of writing, similar to that of his late friend, the journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

   

– The Depp fans –

Fans of Depp queued up for hours daily to secure coveted seats in the public gallery for the trial held in Fairfax, Virginia.

While the spectators mostly behaved themselves, Judge Penney Azcarate threatened to expel them at one point during Heard’s testimony.

“If I hear one more sound, I will clear the gallery and we will continue this testimony without anybody in the courtroom,” Azcarate warned. “Understood?”

Depp fans also waged a massive campaign on social media in support of the actor with the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.

Heard said she had received thousands of death threats. “People want to kill me and they tell me so every day,” she said.

The trial has also been closely followed online by millions of people tuning in to YouTube livestreams of proceedings. Many of them generated memes or animated GIFs in real-time, often either lauding Depp or ridiculing Heard.

– Damaged Hollywood careers –

Both Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard claimed their careers have been damaged.

Heard, who starred in “Aquaman,” one of the top-grossing films ever, said she had to fight to retain a role in “Aquaman 2” and Depp tried to get Warner Brothers to cut her from the sequel.

Heard’s legal team presented an entertainment industry expert who estimated she has suffered $45-50 million in lost film and TV roles and endorsements.

An industry expert hired by Depp’s side said he has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $22.5 million payday for a sixth “Pirates” installment.

But Tracey Jacobs, Depp’s former agent, said there never was a formal agreement for another “Pirates” film.

Jacobs also said the actor’s star had begun to dim since 2010 because of “unprofessional behavior” which included drinking and drug use.