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| Photo Credit: AP. |
As the war ranges in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the
country is marching towards becoming a member of the EU, a strategic economic
alliance which safeguards peace on the continent and provides economic support
to member countries.
Russia attacked and invaded Ukraine on February 24 saying it
was a direct response of NATO expansion to the east and incorrectly called its
brutal war – a special military operation. It said at the time that it wanted
guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO and the EU. Some residents who have continually grappled
with Russia’s daily bombardment of Ukraine narrated their ordeal and spoke of their
outrage with A{P.
“We are old people, we do not have a place to go. Where will
I go?” asked Vira Miedientseva, one of the elderly residents grappling with the
aftermath of at attack Thursday in Lysychansk, which lies just across the river
from Sievierodonesk, a key focus of battles in recent weeks that Russians have
nearly captured, according to AP.
The recommendations by the by the executive arm of the
European Union is the first step on the long road toward membership and is
coming after the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania visited the war
torn country to show solidarity. The four leaders vowed to back Kyiv’s
candidacy to the union. According to AP, the recommendation will be discussed
by leaders of the 27-nation bloc during a summit next week in Brussels. All member countries must approve proposals
and requests for new membership.
The process of membership for Ukraine may take years as
divisions remain among member countries over how quickly and fully to admit new
members.
After successfully pushing out the invading Russian forces
from Kyiv, Ukrainian forces are now battling the Russian forces in the east of the
country where the Kremlin is now focusing its war of barbarism. Thousands of
troops on both sides have been killed in the fighting that is now getting even
more intense in the fourth month since the conflict. Civilians have not been
spared as Russian forces fires artillery and other munitions at civilian
residences in a bid to take over Ukrainian lands.
On Friday the Ukrainian Navy said it struck a Russian boat
carrying air defense systems to a strategic island in the Black Sea. The Navy said
in a statement on social media that the Vasily
Bekh was used to transport ammunition, weapons and personnel to Snake
Island. There was no immediate reaction
from Russian authorities on the reported attack.