– With the decision on the status of a candidate for the European Union, Ukraine is facing a historic day. Meanwhile, Russia attacked in the east of the country with artillery and rockets. Events at a glance.

As Ukraine moves toward EU candidate status, Russia is stepping up attacks in the east of the country. The strategic and important city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region is increasingly being targeted.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyj once again called for faster arms deliveries “to stop this evil fleet and push it beyond the borders of Ukraine”.

Ukraine: There is a risk of siege in the Luhansk region

In Luhansk, south of Lyssychansk, Ukrainian troops were threatened with being surrounded by Russian units. “Towards Sieverodonetsk, the enemy captured the settlements of Loskutivka and Raj-Olexandrivka,” Ukraine’s general staff said on Facebook Thursday. This means that the Ukrainian units in the vicinity of the miners’ settlements only have a maximum width of four kilometers to retreat. According to British intelligence, some Ukrainian troops withdrew.

According to the separatists, however, this is already being controlled by Russian units. This cannot be independently verified. According to the representative of the Luhansk separatists in Moscow, Rodion Miroshnik, Russian troops have cut off the last connecting road from Lysychansk to the west. According to his estimates, at least 5,000 Ukrainian troops were surrounded.

Fierce fighting also rages south of Sievjerodonetsk, which has been largely conquered by the Russians. Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last major cities in the Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control. The conquest of Luhansk – like the Donetsk region – is one of Russia’s main goals in the war against the neighboring country that began four months ago.

Russia’s advance is likely the result of recent reinforcements and a high concentration of shelling, the Ministry of Defense tweeted in London. Despite the intense pressure exerted by Russian troops in the Lysychansk-Syeverodonetsk enclave, attempts to achieve a deeper encirclement of the western Donetsk region remained deadlocked.

Selenskyj wants trials for war crimes like in Nuremberg

In his daily TV address, Zelenskyy called for Russia’s war crimes to be investigated by a special tribunal. “Russia must be held accountable for all the crimes it brought to Ukraine,” he said. On the anniversary of Hitler’s Germany attacking the Soviet Union in 1941, he refers to the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War.

Ukrainian asset database destroyed in war

The Ukrainian government wants to start a database of assets destroyed by Russian forces in mid-July. For example, residential buildings destroyed in the war should be listed, as Deputy Digital Minister Anatoly Komirnij said. Its aim is to collect data that all Ukrainians can use to sue for compensation in international courts, among other things.

Movement in the negotiations on the blockade of Russian grain

Negotiations to break Russia’s grain blockade in Ukraine appear to be making progress. UN Security Council circles confirmed to the German Press Office that the parties to the conflict could meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Turkey – perhaps next week as early as next.

The international community has been demanding that Russia allow Ukrainian grain exports for weeks. Ukraine complains that its ports on the Black Sea are blocked by the Russian Navy. The two countries are among the largest exporters of wheat and play an important role in global food security. The United Nations recently warned of the worst famine in decades.

Microsoft: Ukrainian ally targeted by Russian hackers

According to Microsoft, Russian hackers attacked Ukraine’s western allies on a large scale. The software group warned that they were specifically targeting government computers in NATO countries. The number one target is the United States, but overall Microsoft experts have identified attacks by Russian hackers against 128 organizations in 42 countries outside of Ukraine.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, they have managed to penetrate the attacked network in 29 percent of attacks, he said. At least every fourth successful attack proves to lose data. At the same time, Microsoft stressed that Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s IT infrastructure with cyber and missile attacks since the beginning of the war. However, thanks to protective measures, the system has proven to be largely resilient.

Moscow accuses US of blocking flights for diplomats

Russia has accused the United States of blocking flights for expelled Russian diplomats. The Russian plane was supposed to fly diplomats ordered by the US government to leave the United States by the end of the month, the State Department said in Moscow. However, Washington did not allow it.

Therefore, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened to take unspecified countermeasures. The US State Department did not comment on details. However, he complained that Russia was not presenting the situation properly.

it will important today

At a summit in Brussels, the EU intends to decide whether Ukraine will be granted EU candidate status. Prior to the deliberations, broad support for the appropriate recommendations of the European Union Commission emerged. However, the decision must be taken unanimously by the 27 states.

At the same time there is a video of the summit of the so-called Brics countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) with the participation of the head of the Kremlin Putin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also visited Tehran.