Day 586 of the Invasion of Ukraine: The EU is convening a Historic Meeting of All Foreign Ministers in Kyiv

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Day 586 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• The Air Force of Ukraine warned of the danger of strikes in the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions
• Zelensky: Nothing will weaken Kyiv's determination against Russia
• Joe Biden promised: Support for Ukraine will continue
• The EU is convening a historic meeting of all foreign ministers in Kyiv
• Truth or lie: Yanukovych did not reject a "treaty for the accession of Ukraine to the EU and NATO”

The Air Force of Ukraine warned of the danger of strikes in the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions

An air alert was also declared that night in some areas of Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said nothing would weaken Kyiv's resolve against Russia.

The Air Force of Ukraine warned of the danger of airstrikes in Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions. A missile threat was reported from Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kirovograd regions.

Yesterday, fighting took place along the entire front line in Ukraine, the General Staff in Kyiv reported. The Russian occupation forces have made unsuccessful attempts to regain control of the previously liberated Andriivka near Bakhmut. A Russian attack was also repelled in the area of the village of Makiivka, Luhansk region, and in the Zaporizhzhia region - in the region of Novodarovka. According to the General Staff, in the area of Bakhmut, the Russians have gathered more than 10,000 men and are probably preparing for new offensive actions.

At the same time, from Moscow, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned the West that by helping Ukraine, it was pushing the world towards the Third World War. According to him, if Germany supplies Ukraine with Taurus missiles, with which Kyiv will be able to strike the territory of Russia, then Moscow will rightfully be able to fire at the German factories where these missiles are produced.

In a speech on Defender's Day, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that no one can stop the strength and courage of Ukraine:

"Hard times have made us strong. Nothing will be able to weaken our resolve, endurance, strength and courage. They have no expiration date, no end date or end point after which we stop resisting and fighting, except for one thing - our victory. Every day we approach her and say, "We will fight as long as it takes!"

At the same time, the speaker of the lower house of the US Congress, Kevin McCarthy, told CBS that he is not worried about the intentions of far-right Republicans to remove him from office after passing a temporary budget with the help of Democrats. Following President Joe Biden's calls, McCarthy assured that Ukraine would not go without US aid for the next 45 days while the interim budget is in place, but set a condition:

"They have more than $3 billion right now to help them get through (during this period). If they have a problem, we can discuss it. But America's border is important, and more Americans die at the border than Americans are dying in Ukraine. I will make sure that arms are provided to Ukraine, but the Ukrainians will not receive a large shipment if our border is not secured."

Zelensky: Nothing will weaken Kyiv's determination against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said nothing will weaken Kyiv's resolve against Russia. His statement came a day after the US Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund the federal government, which did not include aid to Ukraine.

In a speech on the occasion of Defender's Day, Zelensky said that no one can stop the stability, strength, courage and resilience of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden announced that Republicans have pledged to provide aid to Ukraine in a separate vote and that US support will not be cut off under any circumstances.

The temporary US government shutdown measure does not include $6 billion in military aid to Kyiv.

Hard-line Republicans oppose additional military aid to Ukraine, and some openly oppose the White House's approach to the war. Biden urged Republicans to stop playing with the threat of paralysis of the federal administration.

"We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be cut off. I expect the speaker of the lower house to honor his commitments and secure approval for the support Ukrainians need for self-defense. There is an overwhelming majority in both the lower and upper houses of Congress support for Ukraine. Let's vote for it," said US President Joe Biden.

Joe Biden promised: Support for Ukraine will continue

Joe Biden promised to continue the United States' support for Ukraine. His assurance comes after continued military funding was excluded from a last-minute deal on the US budget. The measure, which was pushed to avert a federal government shutdown, does not include $6 billion in military aid to Kyiv, a top White House priority.

Hardline Republicans oppose new military aid to Ukraine, with many opposed to Joe Biden's approach. However, he assured that Kyiv can count on Washington's support.

"I want to assure our allies, the American people and the people of Ukraine that you can count on our support. We are not going to back down," Biden said.

The EU is convening a historic meeting of all foreign ministers in Kyiv

The head of the foreign policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, announced that all foreign ministers of the bloc are meeting for the first time outside its borders, in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, BGNES reported.

"We are convening a historic meeting of EU foreign ministers here in Ukraine, a candidate country and future member of the EU. We are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people," Borrell said in a statement on social media.

The meeting was not announced in advance for security reasons. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed this first meeting of his European colleagues in Kyiv.

Truth or lie: Yanukovych did not reject a "treaty for the accession of Ukraine to the EU and NATO”

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (in office from February 25, 2010 to February 22, 2014) did not reject in 2013 "a treaty on the accession of Ukraine to the European Union and NATO", as claimed in a Facebook post republished thousands of times in Bulgaria.

Claim: Viktor Yanukovych has rejected a treaty on Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO The first thing to note is that NATO and the European Union are two completely different organizations, with different goals and histories, and the process of gaining membership is fundamentally different - i.e. there can be no "treaty on accession to the EU and NATO".

The countries that are members of the two organizations do not overlap. For example, Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta are part of the EU, but not NATO. While the European countries Iceland and Norway are in NATO, but not in the European Union.

The process for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is detailed on its official website and begins with an invitation by allies to and talks with invitees. Official letters of intent to NATO follow, along with timelines for completing the reforms required for membership in the pact. NATO then prepares accession protocols, which must be ratified by all member countries. The NATO Secretary General then invites the country to join the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty), which is done according to the country's national procedure. Membership is official after the country deposits its application for accession with the US State Department, which is the depositary of the treaty.

The relationship between NATO and Ukraine is clearly described on the pact's website. At the Alliance summit in Bucharest in 2008, in response to Kyiv's bid for membership, the countries announced that Ukraine would be a member of NATO. From 2010 to 2014, Kyiv adhered to a policy of non-alignment, which was ended in response to Russian aggression. In 2019, the strategic goal of NATO membership was included in Ukraine's constitution.

At their summit in Vilnius in 2023, NATO countries reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine becoming a member of the pact. But there are no clear and specific deadlines for this.

Ukraine has the status of a candidate country for EU membership. There is no "Treaty on the accession of Ukraine to the EU". There is an Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine, the purpose of which is to deepen cooperation between the two countries in various spheres.

This agreement states that "foreign citizens and persons do not have the right to acquire ownership of agricultural land. Foreign citizens and stateless persons do not have the right to acquire land plots that are state or municipal property for free , or to privatize the land plots that have already been granted to them for use.

Foreign legal entities can acquire property rights only on land plots with non-agricultural purpose in the territory of populated areas when acquiring immovable property in connection with economic activity carried out in Ukraine, and outside populated areas - when acquiring immovable property".

"Enterprises and state agencies in which state ownership exceeds 25% do not have the right to participate in the privatization of Ukrainian enterprises," the document, which came into force on September 1, 2017, also states.

It was the refusal (archived decision of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine) of Viktor Yanukovych as President of Ukraine at the end of 2013 to sign the Association Agreement with the EU that gave impetus to the protests, which were subsequently named Euromaidan.

On February 22, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada scheduled early elections for the President of Ukraine on May 25, 2014 due to "self-removal of Viktor Yanukovych from exercising his constitutional powers". Yanukovych himself fled to Russia at that time.

The Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine was finally signed on June 27, 2014 in Brussels by the new Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The claim that the pro-Russian president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, has rejected an "EU-NATO accession treaty" is FALSE, as there is none.

The refusal of the authorities in Kyiv during Yanukovych's presidency to complete work on an agreement on rapprochement and deepening of relations between Ukraine and the EU is only one of the key events that preceded the large-scale protests in Ukraine, which were named Euromaidan, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022.

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