Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, visited Kiev on Saturday. The EU will announce in a few days that Ukraine has taken the necessary steps to begin the progress of negotiations among EU member states.
Ukraine applied to join the European Union after Russia's invasion in February 2022.
The accession process usually takes several years, but Ukraine believes that joining the European Union is important in resisting Russian invasion and hopes to join as soon as possible.
The European Union plans to announce on Wednesday whether Ukraine can start accession negotiations, which will begin in December.
Thank you for the US sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily speech Thursday that he is grateful for the "new, very strong sanctions" imposed by the United States on over 220 Russian entities.
On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on more than 100 personnel and companies from China, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates who helped Russia obtain important tools and weapons to invade Ukraine.
Zelensky said that every sanction "must be thoroughly implemented, so that Russia has no chance to evade sanctions
He said, "The power of sanctions is the power of the world
Russian shelling kills two civilians
Local authorities say Russia shelled the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Thursday, killing two more civilians.
The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that Russia shelled villages in the Kherson region, killing two civilians, injuring four people, and damaging buildings.
The local capital, Kherson, was also shelled by Russia on Wednesday, resulting in one death. Prokuddin claimed that the attack caused losses in the 'apocalyptic scenario'.
Nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
Russia said on Thursday that Ukraine launched a drone attack near the Zaporo heat nuclear power plant, which was "playing with fire". This nuclear power plant has been under Russian control since the invasion in March 2022.
The Russian Ministry of Defense says the Russian military has shot down nine Ukrainian drones.
A spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Kiev continues to play with fire and is engaged in criminal and irresponsible provocation
The International Atomic Energy Agency often warns of the risk of a nuclear accident at this nuclear power plant.
Progress of War
The Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, stated that with the slow progress of Ukraine's four month counterattack, the two sides have reached a stalemate.
Just like in World War I, we have reached the technological level that brought us to a deadlock, "he told The Economist. He also added, 'It's very likely there won't be a significant and beautiful breakthrough.'
Moscow rejected this description of the war, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "Russia is steadily conducting special military operations. All set goals should be achievable
Contrary to the Russian claim, Ukraine claimed on Friday (November 3rd) that Russia's recent attack on Avdiivka in the town of Donbas had not been successful. When Ukraine talked about the fighting there, it said that Russia's "large-scale military attacks are in trouble under Ukraine's strong defense".
(This article references reports from Reuters, The Associated Press, and Agence France Presse.)