Almost a month before the decision on a possible start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi confirmed his country’s efforts in all necessary reforms. During a meeting with Ukrainian government and parliament representatives on Wednesday, Zelenskyj said in his evening video address that he was discussing further concrete measures. “Everyone in the EU should see how serious Ukraine is and how clearly we are doing what is asked.”
Ukraine – like its small neighbor Moldova – is currently waiting for a decision on the start of accession negotiations. The European Commission recommended this step in principle two weeks ago, but EU governments have yet to agree to it. A decision is expected to be made at the last regular summit of the year on December 14 and 15.
It is currently unclear whether the decision will be positive. The main reason is that the reform requirements have not yet been fully met. During a visit to Kiev on Tuesday, EU Council President Charles Michel assured both Ukraine and Moldova of full support in their efforts to get negotiations underway quickly. At the same time, however, he cautioned against viewing this as an absolute success.
Meanwhile, in Russia, a 17-year-old student was sentenced to six years in prison for attempted arson of military facilities. Because the high school student threw Molotov cocktails at the buildings of two military replacement offices in the district in protest against Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the St. Petersburg court found him guilty of “attempts at terrorism.”
The harsh approach of the judiciary had already caused a stir – also because the then 16-year-old teenager had caused little damage with his actions in February of this year: in neither case did a fire break out in the military facilities.
Finland has asked the EU border protection agency Frontex for help in response to the increasing number of undocumented migrants from Russia. The Border Guard said additional staff and technical equipment would be needed. Finnish media reported that the Border Guard had officially asked the armed forces for help in building barbed wire barriers at the border stations. The Finnish government accuses Russia of increasingly allowing migrants – most of whom come from the Middle East – across the border into Finland, where they apply for asylum, without the necessary documents. Moscow denies this.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin again rejected accusations of his war of aggression in Ukraine during a virtual G20 summit. Some participants in the Group of Leading Economic Powers (G20) expressed shock at Russian aggression in Ukraine in their speeches, Putin said, the Kremlin said. “Yes, of course acts of war are always a tragedy.” We need to think about how to end this tragedy, he said.
The Kremlin repeatedly portrays Ukraine as a country allegedly run by “neo-Nazis” – and the change of power that followed the pro-European protests in Kiev in 2014 as the trigger for the war that Putin himself started with his attack order in February 2022 . “Russia has never rejected peace talks with Ukraine,” Putin also claimed. Ukraine, on the other hand, refuses to negotiate. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. For Kiev, a withdrawal of Russian troops is a condition for lasting peace. Moscow rejects this.
Heavy fighting continues in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia’s war of aggression will also be the subject of a two-day summit that representatives of the European Union and Canada will hold starting next Thursday in the Canadian city of St. John’s, Newfoundland. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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