Kyiv granted E.U. membership candidacy in symbolic win amid war

Vkusno i Tochka, the fast-food chain that replaced McDonald’s after the U.S. franchise left Russia in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, said it had sold almost 120,000 burgers on opening day last week.

Chief executive Oleg Paroev told Reuters that the franchise opened 50 restaurants in the Moscow area June 12 and June 13. The chain also started launching additional venues in St. Petersburg this week, according to Russian media. Paroev said his goal is to open 1,000 outlets in the next few years, more than the 850 McDonald’s restaurants that had been open in Russia.

McDonald’s entry into Russia in the dying stages of the Cold War symbolized the thawing relationship between Moscow and the West. Its replacement by what is sometimes called the “sanctions edition” of McDonald’s is a symbol of a new deep freeze as the United States and its allies tighten restrictions on Russia.

Mary Ilyushina contributed to this report.

Ukraine continues to suffer high casualties as Russia presses forward with its aggression in the eastern Ukrainians cities, causing injuries and forcing Ukrainian armed forces to regain footing in new terrain. The recalculation of Ukraine’s ground troops indicates that authorities could be considering the loss of two key areas, according to analysis from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

Here are more updates from across the country:

Severodonetsk: Russian forces have destroyed many Ukrainian defensive structures in the industrial area of the city, leaving Ukrainian troops to consider retreating to new positions, Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, said Thursday, according to the Guardian. Meanwhile, Russian forces are reinforcing their lots around Severodonetsk to completely capture the city, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The mayor of Severodonetsk says up to 8,000 people remain in his city.

Lysychansk: Ukrainian forces are facing encirclement from Russian soldiers in the city of Lysychansk, according to Haidai, Reuters reported. “All of Lysychansk is within reach of their fire. It is very dangerous in the city,” he said on national TV, according to Reuters. Russian forces are also upping their grouping in Lysychansk to boost its chances of completely taking it over, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

The Black Sea: Russia is rebutting claims that it planted mines at the ports of Odessa and Ochakiv after newly declassified U.S. intelligence released information saying otherwise, the Guardian reported. A U.S. official told the news outlet that there is also indication that Russia previously mined the Dnieper River, the fourth longest river in Europe.

European leaders are celebrating Ukraine’s European Union candidacy status, a stinging rebuke of the Kremlin, which has long held the nation as “Little Russia.”

President Zelensky called the decision “a unique and historical moment in [Ukraine-European Union] relations.”

“Ukraine’s future is within the E.U.,” he said Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said a commitment was made to Ukraine last week to see it have candidacy status, while Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, said this “confirms Ukraine’s rightful position in Europe. They’re fighting for the freedoms and values E.U. is founded on.”

Sweden’s foreign affairs minister, Ann Linde, said Ukraine and Moldova, which was also granted candidacy status, “belong in EU.”

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry had a more somber statement of the significance: “While it may be a day to celebrate, our application was written with the blood of our warriors and civilians. Moving forward to the West. But our battle is still ongoing in the East.”

As leaders of the European Union discussed — and ultimately granted — candidate status to Ukraine for their 27-member bloc, demonstrators, including Ukrainians, gathered in support of the nation’s inclusion.

Outside the European Union building on Thursday, one protester held up a sign with the words “nothing can stop the idea when its time has arrived,” spray-painted in blue. Other signs read: “Ukraine must be in the EU” and “Freedom for Ukraine.”

On the steps of the E.U. Parliament, dozens of people, including European lawmakers and Ukrainian representatives, unfurled a giant yellow and blue Ukrainian flag. In a symbolic act, they laid smaller E.U. flags along the Ukrainian flag, creating a colorful patchwork.

“Today is a good day for Europe,” E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted after the decision to grant Ukraine candidacy was announced.

The United States will send an additional $450 million in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as it fends off a Russian invasion, the Biden administration said Thursday, including additional multiple-launch rocket systems and patrol boats to defend its shores.

White House spokesman John Kirby said the United States will send more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS; additional rounds for artillery already provided to Ukraine; and the vessels. It marks the 13th weapons package that President Biden has approved for delivery to Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, with a total of $6.1 billion in security assistance, Kirby said.

“We are committed to standing with them as they fight for their freedom,” Kirby said of Ukraine.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the latest package includes four HIMARS, 36,000 105mm howitzer rounds, tactical vehicles to tow 155mm artillery, 1,200 grenade launchers, 2,000 machine guns, 18 patrol boats and a variety of spare parts.

Biden is set to leave Saturday for meetings in Germany and Spain with leaders of the Group of Seven political forum and NATO.

Ukraine filed a court case in the European Court of Human Rights against Russia for what it says are human rights violations during the war, Ukraine’s Justice Ministry announced Thursday.

“In due course, the Court will be invited to find that Russia has been guilty of the most flagrant, serious and sustained violations of the [European Convention on Human Rights] ever placed before the Court, and to award just satisfaction on an equally unprecedented scale,” the ministry wrote.

The move is largely symbolic; Russia’s parliament voted earlier this month to end the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisdiction in the country.

The filing covers alleged violations from the invasion on Feb. 24 until early April, when Russia retreated from Kyiv and surrounding areas. Alleged violations after April 7 will be addressed in “subsequent filings,” U.S. law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, appointed by Ukraine as counsel for the proceedings, wrote in a statement.

The filling accuses Russia of violating the right to life, the prohibition on torture, and the right to freedom of assembly and association, among other allegations.

In addition to the end of military aggression, Ukraine seeks compensation and remedial measures for the violations for all injured parties. Damages for the first period of war will amount to at least $80 billion, the ministry said.

BRUSSELS — European leaders meeting Thursday formally backed European Union candidate status for Ukraine, a historic moment for the bloc and a major morale boost for Kyiv amid the war with Russia. The European Parliament also backed the move in a vote Thursday.

Ukraine’s push has revived the enlargement debate more broadly.

Georgia will be considered for membership status after additional conditions are met.

“Now is the time to acknowledge that the future of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia lies within the EU,” European Council President Charles Michel wrote in an invitation letter to the meetings.

Here’s what happened and what the move could mean.