In a daring geopolitical move brought on by Russia's invasion and hailed as a "historic occasion," Ukraine became a candidate to join the European Union on Thursday.As it seeks to impose its will on Ukraine, Russia will be incensed by the EU leaders' decision to support the Kyiv government's application.
On Thursday, Moldova also officially entered the race, indicating that the bloc intends to extend its influence throughout the former Soviet Union.
On Friday, it will have been four months since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops across the border in what he refers to as a "special military operation," which was partly provoked by Western intrusion into what Russia views as its sphere of influence.
The twin cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are located on opposing sides of the Siverskyi Donets River in the Luhansk province, are where the war of attrition in the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland, is most critical.
Numerous people have died, millions have been displaced, and cities have been destroyed as a result of the conflict, which the West views as an unjustified war of aggression by Russia. Countries all over the world have also been impacted by the reduction in food and energy exports.
According to diplomats, it will take Ukraine at least ten years to meet the requirements for membership in the EU.
However, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, expressed her conviction that Moldova and Ukraine will move as quickly as possible to enact the required reforms.
After its march on the capital in the early days of the conflict was blocked by Ukrainian resistance, Russia has centred its campaign on southern and eastern Ukraine.