EU official confident bloc will back Ukraines candidate status
European Council President Charles Michel said he is confident
EU leaders will vote Thursday in favor of granting candidate status to Ukraine.
EU
leaders gathered in Brussels were also set to discuss the impact of Russia’s
war in Ukraine on global food security, as well as additional EU economic,
military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.
The
European Commission recommended EU candidate status for Ukraine and its smaller
neighbor, Moldova, last week.
The
candidacy status is just the first step toward joining the 27-member group.
Ukraine will need to meet political and economic conditions, such as meeting
standards on democratic principles. Diplomats say the process could take a
decade to complete.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation that he had spoken to 11 European Union leaders Wednesday about Ukraine's candidacy and would make more calls Thursday.
Earlier, he voiced his optimism
at joining the EU, saying he believed all 27 EU countries would support
Ukraine's candidate status.
Zelenskyy
said Russia carried out “massive air and artillery strikes” in eastern
Ukraine’s Donbas region, adding that Russia’s goal is to “destroy the entire
Donbas step-by-step.”
The
Ukrainian leader called for faster arms deliveries to help his forces match up
against those from Russia.
Kharkiv
region Governor Oleh Synehubov said Wednesday shelling of the residential
districts of Kharkiv or other towns in the region had continued unabated.
"There
is no letup in the shelling of civilians by the Russian occupiers," he
wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "This is evidence that we cannot
expect the same scenario as in Chernihiv or Kyiv, with Russian forces
withdrawing under pressure."
Ukrainian
presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video address that Russian
forces were hitting Kharkiv "with the aim of terrorizing the
population" and forcing Ukraine to divert troops, Reuters reported.
Microsoft
reported Wednesday that Russian intelligence agencies have conducted multiple
efforts to hack the computer networks of Ukraine’s allies.
"The
cyber aspects of the current war extend far beyond Ukraine and reflect the
unique nature of cyberspace," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in
the report.
The
Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for
comment, Reuters reported. In the past, Moscow has denied conducting foreign
cyber espionage missions, saying it "contradicts the principles of Russian
foreign policy."
Since the conflict began four months ago, Ukrainian entities have been attacked by Russian state-backed hacking groups, Microsoft reported.
Researchers found 128
organizations in 42 countries outside Ukraine were also targeted by the same
groups in espionage-focused hacks, the report found.
Nearly
two-thirds of the cyberespionage targets involved NATO members, researchers
found.
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