Zelensky hails EU backing as fierce battles rock Donbas

The European Commission spearheaded a powerful show of solidarity on Friday by backing Ukraine for EU candidate status, an endorsement that could add it to the list of countries vying for membership as early as next week. Even though EU membership could still be years away, Zelensky called the decision a "historic achievement" and said it would "certainly bring our victory closer" against Russia.On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made her support of clear by donning a striking outfit in Ukraine's national colours in blue and yellow.- 'More destruction' -"Now the most fierce battles are near Severodonetsk. They (Russia) do not control the city entirely," the governor of the eastern Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said on Telegram.Gaiday said there was "more destruction" at the besieged Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where he said 568 people were sheltering, including 38 children.Lysychansk residents were preparing to be evacuated. "We are abandoning everything, we are leaving our house. We left our dog with food. It's inhumane but what can you do?"Russian state television meanwhile aired social media videos of two US military veterans who went missing last week while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army, stating they had been captured by Russian forces.The missing Americans -- including a third identified as a former US Marines captain -- are believed to be part of an unknown number of mostly military veterans who have joined other foreigners to volunteer alongside Ukrainian troops."Most of those who are here aren't soldiers. They're just civilians who want to defend their country -- 50 percent of them have never held a weapon until today," a sergeant known as "Ticha" told AFP.Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had "nothing against" Ukraine joining the EU, saying it was "their sovereign decision to join economic unions or not" -- unlike the security risk he sees in Kyiv joining NATO.Putin also insisted that the Russian invasion was not the cause of global inflation and grain shortages, blaming Western sanctions that he said threatened starvation "primarily in the poorest countries".Moscow has turned up the pressure on Western allies by sharply reducing flows of natural gas in its pipelines to western Europe, driving up energy prices in a region dependent on Russian gas.Ukraine was meanwhile battling on another front -- the right to host next year's Eurovision song contest after its morale-boosting win this year."We will demand to change this decision, because we believe that we will be able to fulfil all the commitments," Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said.... Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au