The United Nations has warned of a crisis and the humanitarian threat in Ukraine
Araweelo News Network.
The European Commission recommends granting EU candidacy status to Ukraine and Moldova.
Ukraine (ANN)-The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA raised concerns that the humanitarian conditions in eastern Ukraine continue to deteriorate four months into the Russian invasion.
Russian troops are closing in on the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, a key battleground in the Donbas region, Which has been embroiled in weeks of deadly fighting. The city is strategically located, and its capture means the capital city of Kyiv is under further threat.
“Nearly four months since the start of the war, the humanitarian situation across Ukraine, particularly in the eastern Donbas is extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate rapidly,” the OCHA said in a statement. The situation in the key city of Sievierodonetsk, where heavy fighting has been taking place in recent weeks, is “particularly worrying,” the OCHA added. Ukrainian officials have said that thousands of civilians remain in the city, with hundreds sheltering in a local chemical plant.
According to the OCHA, the UN and its partners have delivered aid to more than 8.8 million people across Ukraine since the Russian invasion started on 24 February 2022.
Meanwhile, an intelligence report, published by the British Ministry of Defence, said Russia was “increasingly suppressing” the opposition in Ukraine. “In Russia, the war has accelerated the state’s long-term trajectory towards authoritarianism,” the report said.
The report noted that Russia’s parliament was working to introduce a 20-year sentence for Russians who fight against the Russia.
The European Commission is due to recommend granting EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova later on Friday.
But, Candidate status is not the same as EU membership it denotes the start of an often lengthy process toward joining the bloc.
The Commission will give its opinion on the matter to the EU’s 27 members after an agreement on the opinion in a meeting Friday, and the decision is expected to be made public next week, According to EU diplomats. The bloc’s governments will then have to decide how to proceed.
It coincided with this after On Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis they Suddenly visited Kyiv, where they went on a secret trip, by train from Poland.
Leaders said in Kyiv that they backed Ukraine’s application for EU candidate status. Ukraine and Moldova will likely face a long accession process.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted Ukraine’s bid for EU membership shortly after the war started in 24 February 2022.
Mr. Zelenskyy’s bid for EU membership has played a key role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the new plan appears to further anger Russia and further alienate Ukrainians.
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By Arraale M Jama Freelance Journalist and Human Rights activist.
Araweelo News Network.
info@araweelonews.com
