According to US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “didn’t want to hear” US warnings ahead of Russia’s invasion of his country. On the ground, Ukrainian forces said on Friday that they shelled Russian positions in the Kherson region to the south, while on the eastern front, Severodonetsk is still under constant fire from Russian artillery.
4:09 am: Biden says Zelensky ‘didn’t want to hear’ his warnings about a Russian invasion
Joe Biden has assured that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “did not want to hear” American warnings before the invasion of his country by Russia.
“A lot of people thought I was exaggerating” by talking about a Russian attack on Ukraine before it started, the US president said at a reception in Los Angeles, intended to raise funds for the Democratic party.
“But I knew that we had information in this direction. (Russian President Vladimir Putin) was going to cross the border. There was no doubt and Zelensky did not want to hear it”, he added in front of journalists.
2:36 a.m .: EU unity must not be compromised by Ukraine’s candidate status
The decision to grant Ukraine European Union (EU) candidate status must be taken without weakening the bloc and leaving kyiv in limbo for years, a French official is quoted as saying. by the Reuters agency.
“We will be attentive to the unity of the European Council. We also believe that the European Union must emerge stronger from this crisis in Ukraine and not weakened”, explained this source within the French presidency.
While many countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, support Ukraine’s membership, some like the Netherlands or Denmark, but also Germany and France, which chairs the EU until the end of June , are very reserved.
The European Commission (EC) will deliver its opinion on Ukraine’s application on June 17, and EU heads of state are expected to discuss it at a summit the following week.