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Ukraine's accession to the EU could be delayed for years, Macron proposes a new European Alliance. French President Emmanuel Macron has offered a way for Ukraine to work more closely with the EU. Acknowledging it would take time for Ukraine to become a member of the EU, Macron proposed creating a new, less formal grouping of like-minded countries. Such a political community would also be open to the UK, allowing it to become more involved in European affairs post-Brexit. Membership criteria would be based on geography and a shared set of values, and the new union’s oversight could include political coordination, collective security, and energy, Macron later told reporters.
The Ukrainian refugees were forced to travel through Russia on their way to safety. On April 30, Russian state media reported that over a million refugees (many of whom were forcibly removed and brought to “filtration camps”) had entered Russia from Ukraine, including from the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.” Some have managed to continue on to Europe, but not without difficulty; getting out of Russia requires undergoing numerous invasive searches and interrogations, and some people have even been forced to appear in propaganda videos. Meduza spoke with several people from Mariupol and Rubizhne (a city in the Luhansk region) about the indignities they had to endure to get away from Russia twice.
Ukraine seizes $420 million in frozen assets linked to Russian oligarchs. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office and Bureau of Economic Security seized Hr 12.4 billion from Cypriot company accounts in Alfa-Bank whose Russian beneficiaries reportedly tried to circumvent sanctions.
Lawmakers ban pro-Russian parties. 330 lawmakers supported the bill on May 3. According to the bill, parties that support, or whitewash Russia’s war against Ukraine and deny the fact that Moscow occupies Ukrainian territories, including Crimea and eastern Donbas, are to be banned. In March, several Ukrainian pro-Russian parties, including the Opposition Platform represented by 44 lawmakers, were prohibited. The party eventually dissolved.
Poland and Slovakia plan to persuade EU countries on candidate status for Ukraine. Poland and Slovakia plan to work together to persuade those bloc countries that are currently hesitant to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine, stated Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and Polish President Andrzej Duda. "This is important for the future and peace in Europe. But, of course, it does not automatically mean full membership. Of course, this will require a great deal of effort. But we believe that granting candidate status is a natural gesture in the difficult situation in which Ukraine now finds itself," said Caputova. Andrzej Duda added that Ukrainians are now defending not only their country but also their closest neighbors from the Russian aggressor.
2.6 Polls & Sociology
The collective Zelensky: Amid Russia’s war, Ukraine’s president is more popular than ever. Here’s how his team rallied a nation — and the West. On the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s rating was less than 25 percent. Moscow waging an all-out war turned Zelensky into a national hero — one who now enjoys more than 90 percent support among Ukrainians. For Meduza, journalist Konstantin Skorkin
13 UKRAINE Country Report XXXX 2018 www.intellinews.com