Page 19 - UKRRptFeb23

government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.
Shmyhal: "World's largest minefield" created in Ukraine as result of Russian invasion. Some 250,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian land – nearly 40% of all country’s territory – have been mined since Russia's full-scale invasion last year, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with the South Korean news agency Yonhap. on December 8.
The European Commission's report on Ukrainian legislation’s conformity with EU legislation in order to join the EU is at the final stage. The European Commission is completing the preparation of an analytical report on the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation, which is an addition to the primary conclusion regarding the decision to grant Ukraine candidate status for EU membership, EC representative Ana Pisonero said. She noted that the European Council granted Ukraine candidate status on the condition that specific steps would be taken. These steps are necessary reforms of the Constitutional Court, the continuation of judicial reform, the fight against corruption, including the appointment of the head of the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office, the fight against money laundering, the implementation of the anti-oligarch law, the harmonization of audiovisual legislation with European legislation, and changes in the legislation on national minorities. After the specified conditions are met, negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU will begin.
A former US Secretary of State calls Ukraine's accession to NATO a logical consequence of the Russian invasion. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger believes that Ukraine's membership in NATO would be an appropriate result of the Russian invasion. Speaking via video link in Davos, he noted that before the war, he was against Ukraine's membership in NATO, as he was afraid that exactly what is unfolding in Ukraine now would begin. Kissinger emphasized to listeners that the idea of a neutral Ukraine in these conditions no longer makes sense. He stressed that the US should continue to support and strengthen assistance to Ukraine until the hostilities cease. Furthermore, peace talks should begin after Ukrainian forces regain the territories occupied by Russia after their invasion. And at the end of peace negotiations, Ukraine must receive NATO guarantees.
Pentagon confirms supplying Ukraine from stockpiles in Israel, South Korea. “We have been working with the Republic of Korea and Israel when it comes to withdrawing from our stocks and communicating that with them,” Sabrina Singh, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S Department of Defense, said during a daily press briefing.
US asks its forces in South Korea to give weapons to Ukraine. According to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), which has about 28,500 service people in South Korea, such a request is a part of U.S. efforts to help Ukraine with its supplies. USFK didn't specify what equipment and how much has been requested or already delivered.
Zelenskiy says he's not sure Putin 'still alive.' "I'm not sure that Russia's president, who sometimes appears (on TV with visual effects), is really him," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said when asked about the possibility of peace talks at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos on January 19.
Netherlands to supply 2 Patriot systems, missiles to Ukraine. The
19 UKRAINE Country Report February 2023 www.intellinews.com