Zelensky hails EU backing as intense shelling hits Donbas

President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Brussels' support for Ukraine's European Union bid a historic achievement, as his country's eastern Donas region faced intense Russian shelling.

Brussels spearheaded a powerful show of European solidarity on Friday by backing Kyiv's bid for EU candidate status, an endorsement that could add Ukraine to the list of countries vying for membership as early as next week.
The European Commission is set to meet at their Brussels summit on Thursday with all 27 leaders already backing Kyiv's candidacy and the heads of the bloc's biggest members -- France, Germany and Italy -- giving full-throated support to the idea.

Even though EU membership could still be years away, Zelensky called the decision a "historic achievement".
"Ukrainian institutions maintain resilience even in conditions of war. Ukrainian democratic habits have not lost their power even now," Zelensky said in a video address.
His comments came as powerful shelling struck the country's Donbas region - large parts of which have been occupied by Russian troops - sparking a humanitarian catastrophe that "continues to deteriorate rapidly," according to the UNOCHA.
Hundreds of people are trapped in makeshift bomb shelters in the key city of Severodonetsk, which is in the Lugansk region, including at the besieged Azot chemical plant, governor Sergiy Gaiday said.
"It is now impossible and physically dangerous to get out of the plant due to constant shelling and fighting. There are 568 people in the shelter, including 38 children," he said.

Gaiday said this week that around 10,000 civilians remained in the city, which is controlled mostly by Russian forces.
The Ukranian army said on Saturday there was continuous "fire from...