INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Europe sent a powerful symbol of solidarity with Ukraine on Friday as Brussels backed Kyiv's bid for EU candidate status, a decision
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had "nothing against".With the European Commission's backing, Ukraine could join the list of
to the candidacy, but the heads of the bloc's biggest members -- France, Germany and Italy -- gave full-throated support to the idea on
Thursday, on a trip to a war-torn Kyiv suburb.On Friday, the European Commission gave formal backing to the bid, and EU chief Ursula von der
Leyen made her position clear by donning a striking jacket in Ukraine's national colours."We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for
We want them to live with us for the European dream," she said.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately welcomed the decision as
a "first step on the EU membership path that'll certainly bring our victory closer".He thanked von der Leyen for the commission's
"historic decision" and said he expected that EU leaders would give Ukraine a "positive result" at the June 23-24 summit.Putin said Russia
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.But he said membership of the European Union would turn Ukraine into a "semi-colony" of the West.Russia
had earlier said the West was "manipulating" Ukraine with promises of integration.As Brussels celebrated their breakthrough, British Prime
premier meeting the Ukrainian leader, carrying a stack of books and paperwork under one arm."My visit today, in the depths of this war, is
to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail,"
Johnson said.According to Downing Street, Johnson offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, to train up to 10,000
soldiers every 120 days and "change the equation of the war".Each Ukrainian soldier would spend three weeks on the British training course,
learning combat tactics, basic medical skills, cybersecurity and counter explosive tactics.Russian bombardmentOnce Ukraine joins the EU
candidates' list -- alongside several countries in the western Balkans -- it could still take years to meet all the formal membership
requirements, even if Kyiv prevails in the war."Ukraine should be welcomed as a candidate country -- this is based on the understanding that
good work has been done but important work also remains to be done," von der Leyen said.And in the meantime, the fighting continues, with
Russian forces bombarding pockets of Ukrainian resistance in frontline Severodonetsk, including civilians holed up in a chemical plant
western Europe, driving up energy prices.France's network provider said it had not received any Russian gas by pipeline from Germany since
June 15, and Italy's Eni said it expected Russian firm Gazprom to cut its supplies by half on Friday.Several European countries, including
Italy and Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs and, as the West sides with Ukraine, Moscow is cutting
supplies.'Extremely alarming'Berlin and Rome have rejected Russia's argument that technical issues have caused the drop in supplies,
arguing that state-owned Gazprom's move is political.But western Europe is sweltering in a heatwave and energy prices are already soaring,
adding to runaway inflation and industrial action in several economies.The situation is, of course, starker in Ukraine itself, where Russian
troops have occupied a swathe of the south and east of the country during the 113-day war, including much of the Donbas region."The
humanitarian situation across Ukraine -- particularly in the eastern Donbas -- is extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate rapidly,"
the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.The statement said the situation is "particularly worrying in and around Severodonetsk" -- where
hundreds of civilians were trapped in the besieged Azot chemical plant in the city
civilians remained in the city, which is controlled mostly by Russian forces.In the frontline Donbas village of Adamivka near the city of
Sloviansk, a community of Orthodox nuns have seen a rocket hole blasted into the wall of their well-tended garden.Under near-constant
bombardment by Russian forces, Sister Anastasi and a group of other black-clad nuns and pilgrims live day-to-day, praying for
deliverance."We are all alive, yes
This is our home," she said quietly, her face framed by a black veil, as shells crashed in the distance."We trust in God's will, in God's
help, in the help of all the saints and the Holy Virgin
the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the local governor said.Separately, Zelensky announced an end to the visa-free travel that Russian
citizens, many of whom have Ukrainian relatives, have enjoyed since Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.
