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DEThis week on Friday it was announced that sanctions against Russia would continue. At a press conference of the European Council, Angela Merkel said that Germany and France have talked about the process of the Minsk agreements and negotiations that took place on this occasion. “There is no progress on this issue, so we can recommend not to lift sanctions against Russia. Today, the European Council decided to extend the sanctions for another six months.”
On the eve of the online meeting on the Eastern Partnership, which took place on June 18, Euractiv spoke with the Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU – Mykola Tochytskyi. The three Eastern Partnership countries that have signed association agreements with the EU – Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – are calling for a special format that is in line with their ambitions to join the EU one day. There is some support from the European Parliament and Euronest, the Parliamentary Assembly, which unites MEPs and MPs from partner countries, but at the highest level of the EU, the idea of deepening relations is treated with caution. In addition to issues of “integration”, Mykola Tochytskyi stressed the importance of combating misinformation. According to him, “if the EU wants to know more about Russia’s methods of disinformation, it must look at what Russia is doing to destabilize Ukraine.”
“Against Russian aggression. The United States supplies more weapons to Ukraine “- this is the title of an article in the German Spiegel. “Government’s troops have been fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014. About 13,200 people have been killed since then. Western countries provide Kyiv with equipment and military instructors. And at a time when Russia is hampered by a close partnership between NATO and Ukraine, the United States has announced that it will sell anti-tank missiles and other weapons to the Ukrainian government. Earlier, NATO announced that Ukraine, which is in conflict with Russia, will be included in the Enhanced Capabilities Program. This will give Ukraine more opportunities to participate in maneuvers and cooperation projects within NATO. The country also has access to selected classified information about the alliance,” Spiegel writes.
“This has not happened in the capital of Ukraine for a long time: pro-Russian protesters gathered for a demonstration in front of the presidential palace on Wednesday. And the nationalist opponents could not stop them because they were in the minority.” This was reported by the German TAZ. The demonstration initiated by “the Shariy Party” is a reaction to Serhiy Sternenko’s supporters’ attacks on Kyiv journalists. Sternenko, who is accused of murder, is currently on trial. He objects to this accusation because he acted in defense. According to Ukrainian media, about 500 people took part in the pro-Russian demonstration. Olga Shariy, the wife of the party leader Anatoly Shariy, who lives in a European country, says there are more than 2,000 participants. In terms of content, Anatoliy Shariy is closely connected to the pro-Russian “Opposition Platform – for Life”. The Shariy party is not democratic and not non-violent. Shariy’s call for a demonstration says more about the cult of personality among party members. The red color of the balloons and the red and white flags in the identical design also suggest that the demonstration was organized centrally.
Austrian media Krone wrote about the death of a marathon participant in the Odesa region. The organizers found 33-year-old Kateryna Katyuscheva in a dehydrated and hypothermic state. She soon died at the hospital. The Hungarian news agency MTI reported that she lay on the ground for eight hours without receiving assistance. The organizers searched for her until late at night, eleven hours later she was found about 10 kilometers from the finish line.
Krone also wrote about the coronavirus infection of the First Lady of Ukraine: “She is stable, she does not suffer from shortness of breath and does not need the oxygen supply.”
Once again, Le Figaro wrote about surrogate motherhood in Ukraine. This time the issue was covered from an ethical point of view: “The fact that this practice is legal hinders development and discredits Ukraine in the eyes of European society. In addition, it contradicts international conventions, Ukraine participates.”
Photo-collage: Mind.ua