Ukraine has completed the EU accession questionnaire and expects to receive the candidate status at the European Council meeting scheduled for June 23-24. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned in a video message that Russia is preparing a major offensive in eastern Ukraine. Anyone in Europe and America can already see that Russia is openly using energy to destabilize Western societies. Russia must not win the bet on the chaos created in the energy market, said Volodymyr Zelensky. He also criticized delays in arms deliveries to his country. The Ukrainian army reported new airstrikes by Russian forces on the port city of Mariupol on Sunday, following the expiration of a Russian ultimatum for the local fighters to surrender to the Russian forces besieging the city. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in Mariupol, which has been under siege for several weeks. In the Lugansk region, residents were urged to evacuate immediately. Russian forces are concentrated in the area, trying to capture Lugansk and Donetsk. Russian President Vladimir Putin fully acknowledged that the two eastern regions were independent of Ukraine just before the invasion.
Eugen Cojocariu, Radio Romania International
