After weeks of malignant battles, Ukrainian troops began to resign from the city surrounded in the east of the country to move to a stronger position, a regional official said Friday, a four-month sign in the Russian invasion.
The UN nuclear supervisor said that it was increasingly concerned about the welfare of Ukraine staff in the Zaporizhhia nuclear power plant controlled by Russia in Southeast Ukraine,
the largest in Europe. The International Atomic Energy Agency for months said that Zaporizhzhia, where Ukraine staff operated a factory under the orders of Russian troops, raised safety risks and wanted to send missions there.
Meanwhile, the European Union leaders on Thursday gave Ukraine the coveted status of an official candidate to join their 27-country club, the geopolitical step that was dared to be praised by Kyiv and the European Union itself as a "historical moment".
Although it can take more than a decade to finally join the block, the decision to officially accept it as a candidate is a symbol of the EU intention to reach far to the former Soviet Union.