EU leaders yesterday were set to make Ukraine a candidate for joining the 27-nation bloc, as the Russian military captured two Ukrainian villages and was vying for control of a key highway in an offensive that could cut supply lines and encircle some frontline forces, British and Ukrainian military officials said.
Making Ukraine a contender seems to be a done deal after national leaders were initially divided on how quickly to embrace the war-torn country’s request to become an EU member, which the Ukrainian government submitted only a few days after Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
Several diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity before a leaders’ summit in Brussels said that Ukraine was to receive the unanimous approval required for candidate status and the launch of eligibility negotiations.
Photo: AFP
“This is a decisive moment for the European Union,” said European Council President Charles Michel, the EU summit chair.
Members of the European Parliament endorsed Ukraine’s bid hours before the summit started, voting to pass a resolution that calls EU heads of state and government to “move without delay” and “live up to their historical responsibility.”
EU nations have been united in backing Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, adopting unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine’s application last week got a boost when the European Commission gave its seal of approval based on the country’s answers to a questionnaire received in April and early last month.
Ukraine received another shot in the arm when the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania visited the country and vowed to back its candidacy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he spoke with 11 EU leaders on Wednesday, following calls with nine the day before, and called the meeting in Brussels a “historic session of the European Council.”
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defence said that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from some areas near the city of Lysychansk, the latest major battlefield in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against the country, to avoid the possibility of being encircled as Russians sent in reinforcements and concentrated their firepower in the area.
The Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff office said that Russian forces took control of the villages of Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka, and were trying to capture Syrotyne outside Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of the Luhansk region.
“The enemy is burning everything out in a bid to encircle the Ukrainian group of forces,” Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said.
“The Russians are advancing without trying to spare the ammunition or troops, and they aren’t running out of either,” Haidai said. “They have an edge in heavy artillery and the number of troops.”
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS