Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy greets European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, May 9, 2023 (AFP)

Tuesday’s Coverage: Turkey Backs Sweden’s NATO Membership

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1121 GMT:

Ukraine’s Air Force says it downed all 11 Russian drones launched overnight.

However, there was damage from blast waves and falling debris, including to buildings near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine.

Twenty people were wounded. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said that “windows in administrative and laboratory buildings have been damaged” and that nearby towns Netishyn and Slavuta faced electricity cuts because of damaged power lines.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the Russian attacks temporarily cut power to two of 11 off-site radiation monitoring stations.

The attack did not affect the nuclear power plant’s operations or its connection to the electricity grid, but Director General Rafael Grossi warned:

This incident again underlines the extremely precarious nuclear safety situation in Ukraine, which will continue as long as this tragic war goes on.

The fact that numerous windows at the site were destroyed shows just how close it was. Next time, we may not be so fortunate. Hitting a nuclear power plant must be avoided at all costs.

UPDATE 0856 GMT:

The Russian Parliament has passed a law withdrawing ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The upper house, the Federation Council, approved the law 156-0, following unanimous passage by the Duma.

Earlier this month Vladimir Putin asked the legislators for the withdrawal to “mirror” the US, which signed but never ratified the treaty.

The Kremlin has said it will not resume nuclear testing unless the US does so.

The Treaty is not formally in force, but no country except North Korea has conducted a test with a nuclear explosion this century.

UPDATE 0829 GMT:

A Russian airstrike has killed a 42-year-old man in a residential area of Beryslav in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

The attack at 7:20 a.m. destroyed the man’s house.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russia carried out 35 aerial attacks over the past 24 hours.

UPDATE 0737 GMT:

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is suggesting that legislators from Ukraine and Moldova can join the assembly as “observer” members while the two countries negotiate formal accession to the European Union.

Metsola supports the start of accession negotiations in December for both Kyiv and Chisinau (see Original Entry).

“Make no mistake: Politically if a country looks to Europe, then Europe should fling its doors wide open,” Metsola said in an interview in Brussels.

She mentioned advantages from the European single market perks to involvement in the Erasmus youth program. Then she said:

We can even go further, having observer members in this Parliament — these are things that matter to a population. It depends on what happens in December.

UPDATE 0555 GMT:

The Kremlin is promoting Vladimir Putin’s campaign for yet another Presidential term with a competition for housing certificates, trips around Russia, and other prizes.

The Kremlin will launch “It’s in Our Family” on November 4. Participants can win one of 30 housing certificates worth 5 million roubles ($53,834) or 300 trips.

Organizers say the contest will “create a positive background for the campaign in a difficult time” amid Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, rising prices, and international sanctions.

Formally, the competition has nothing to do with the March 2024 elections. However, it coincides with campaign events. The launch in November is on the same day as the Russia Forum, an “exhibition of the achievements” of Putin’s rule.

Sources of the independent Russian outlet Meduza say Putin’s campaign will be “a series of holidays”, including “It’s in Our Family”.

“This will be a ‘Field of Miracles’ in the good sense of the word,” said one source.

Participants in “It’s Our Family” will have to complete “tasks aimed at creating home comfort”, preparing food, performing a song, carrying out “an act that will benefit others”, designing “a simple chain reaction from improvised objects”, and creating “a virtual chronicle of their family”.

Families from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine will participate in a separate competition.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine is implementing the seven recommendations of the European Commission “as quickly as possible” for accession to the European Union.

Kyiv, whose candidate status was approved in June 2022, is hoping to open accession talks in December.

In a video call, Zelensky told the Commission meeting on Tuesday:

We want no trace of the grey geopolitical zone to remain….We have done a lot, and I would say much more than could be expected, from a country that has been subjected to full-scale aggression.

But Ukraine is not asking for political discounts — we demonstrate the necessary political pace. We share the approach that decisions should be based on the individual achievements of countries that seek to become members of the European Union.

Zelenskiy addressed each of the seven recommendations. He said of judicial reform that Kyiv has begun implementing a law on the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court, with international legal experts evaluating candidates in a transparent and fair process. The High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges are being reviewed and brought up to EU standards.

Anti-corruption initiatives are being implemented, with antitrust legislation, a strengthening of the Government’s agencies, and Ukraine is ensuring compliance with requirements of the international Financial Action Task Force.

Legislation for regulation of the media has been brought into line with EU measures, and Kyiv is affirm the protection of the rights of national communities and minorities.

The President concluded:

Our Europe is at a special moment. For decades, it has been separated into two territories: one where our common values are protected by European institutions, and another where they are not. Now, at last, we are a few geopolitical steps away from eliminating this division….

We have laid a solid basis for this accession. The goal now is very special. If we can get rid of grey geopolitical zones, we must do it.