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Vice President Harris, in Munich for a major security conference, is set to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, representatives of the three Baltic states and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week under the condition that Moscow refrains from attacking Ukraine.
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What to know about shelling in Ukraine that hit a kindergarten
Return to menuKYIV, Ukraine â A kindergarten in eastern Ukraine was one of the civilian structures hit by artillery from Russian-backed separatists Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, heightening tensions in a region already on edge as Moscowâs forces mass along the Ukrainian border.
Three adult employees suffered concussions, the military said in a statement posted to social media, but it appeared children were unharmed. They were in a different room, according to local media reports.
Shelling near the demarcation line in Ukraineâs eastern Donbas region is common, but the wave of activity on Thursday appeared more aggressive than usual. Meanwhile, pro-Russian separatists accused Ukrainian government troops of opening fire on its territory, which Ukraineâs Armed Forces denied. Ukrainian soldiers are under instruction not to return fire.
Analysis: How joining NATO and the E.U. became Ukraineâs unattainable dream
Return to menuEven before the threat of a full Russian invasion, Ukraineâs dalliance with the West had cost it dearly. Nearly a decade ago, a civil uprising in Ukraine over President Viktor Yanukovychâs shift toward Moscow and rejection of a sweeping deal with the European Union forced him into exile â but not before the massacre of protesters in Kyivâs Maidan Square. To punish free-willed Ukrainians, a jilted Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by partitioning their nation, annexing Crimea and staging a de facto occupation of the eastern Donbas region.
But still, Ukrainians clung to hope. In 2019, Ukraine even enshrined its will to join the West in its constitution. âUkraine will join the E.U., Ukraine will join NATO!â declared a jubilant Andriy Parubiy, Ukraineâs speaker of the house, after the measure passed.
Western powers â even if never in agreement, or fully committed, to letting Ukraine in â dangled the hope of access to those rarefied clubs for years. Now even the distant chance that existed before of Ukraine joining NATO or the European Union is quickly evaporating.
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