War against Ukraine: this is the situation
Just under a month before the decision on the possible start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, its President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has reaffirmed his country's efforts to implement all necessary reforms. At a meeting with Ukrainian government and parliament representatives on Wednesday, he discussed further concrete measures, said Zelensky in his evening video address. "Everyone in the EU should see how serious Ukraine is and how clearly we are doing what is required."
Like its small neighbor Moldova, Ukraine is currently waiting for a decision on the start of accession negotiations. The EU Commission recommended this step in principle two weeks ago, but the governments of the EU countries still have to approve it. A decision is to be made at the last regular summit meeting of the year on December 14 and 15.
It is currently unclear whether the decision will be positive. The main reason for this 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 his full support in their efforts to start negotiations quickly. At the same time, however, he warned against seeing this as a foregone conclusion.
Resistance: Russian schoolboy faces six years in prison
Meanwhile in Russia, a 17-year-old schoolboy was sentenced to six years in prison for attempted arson attacks on military facilities. Because the high school student threw Molotov cocktails at the buildings of two district military replacement offices in protest against Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, the court in St. Petersburg found him guilty of "attempted terrorism".
The tough approach of the judiciary had already caused a stir beforehand - also because the then 16-year-old teenager had hardly caused any damage with his actions in February of this year: In neither case did a fire break out in the military facilities.
Finland requests Frontex assistance for border with Russia
In view of the increased number of undocumented migrants from Russia, Finland has asked the EU border protection agency Frontex for help. Additional personnel and technical equipment are needed, the border guard announced. Finnish media reported that the border guard had officially asked the armed forces for help with the construction of barbed wire barriers at the border stations. The Finnish government accuses Russia of increasingly allowing migrants - most of whom come from the Middle East - to cross the border into Finland without the necessary papers, where they apply for asylum. Moscow denies this.
G20 summit: Putin rejects accusations of war in Ukraine
Meanwhile, at a virtual G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again rejected accusations of his war of aggression in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, some participants of the group of leading economic powers (G20) had expressed their shock at Russia's aggression in Ukraine in their speeches. "Yes, of course, acts of war are always a tragedy." We need to think about how this tragedy can be ended, he said.
The Kremlin repeatedly portrays Ukraine as a country allegedly run by "neo-Nazis" - and the change of power that followed pro-European protests in Kiev in 2014 as the trigger for the war that Putin himself started with his order to attack in February 2022. "Russia has never rejected peace talks with Ukraine," Putin also claimed. Ukraine, on the other hand, is refusing to negotiate. In fact, Russia currently occupies around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. For Kiev, the withdrawal of Russian troops is a condition for lasting peace. Moscow, on the other hand, rejects this.
What will be important on Thursday
Heavy fighting continues in the east and south of Ukraine. Russia's war of aggression will also be a topic at a two-day summit that representatives of the European Union and Canada are holding in the Canadian city of St. John's in Newfoundland starting this Thursday.
The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine have led to increased tensions, with Russia's war against Ukraine being a significant concern. As a consequence, a 17-year-old Russian schoolboy was sentenced to six years in prison for attempted arson attacks on military facilities in protest against Russia's actions.
Source: www.dpa.com
