English People

Ukraine has begun a War Crimes trial for sexual offences, The First of what could be dozens of such cases against invading Russian forces.

Russian soldier Mikhail Romanov , 32, is accused of repeatedly raping A Woman in the Kyiv region on 9 March, having earlier allegedly murdered her husband. He is being tried In Absentia as he is believed to have returned to Russia.

Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency, Who Said they were unable to reach The Soldier . Moscow has denied allegations of War Crimes .

Fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, where a local governor described The Situation as extremely difficult. Russia has been using its superior artillery strength to make gains.

Ukraine welcomed The Arrival of four US-made Himars mobile rocket launchers, which have a longer range.

at a leaders' summit in Brussels, after the European Commission gave the Green Light .

Ukraine applied days after The Russian invasion, and The Process has since moved at a record speed.

President Zelensky called it a " unique and historic moment" in relations with The Bloc .

Candidate status is The First official step towards EU membership - But it can take many years to join and there's no guarantee of success.

EU leadership has been noticeably lacking during a European security crisis that is fast becoming a global one, BBC Europe editor Katya Adler writes.

Angela Merkel , Germany's former chancellor, was far from perfect. Russia's leverage over EU energy supplies were things she was at least partially responsible for.

Yet she was a good crisis manager with a canny ability to knock heads together when necessary to find a way forward.

But Olaf Scholz , her successor as head of the EU's richest nation, has failed spectacularly to take The Lead in The Crisis over Ukraine.

He has given the impression, since Russia began its invasion, of being very much on the back foot when It Comes to weapons deliveries to Ukraine, to name But one example.

The sportswear giant has announced plans to leave Russia, becoming the latest Western brand to quit the country since The Invasion .

Shops run by local partners continue to operate But The Firm is winding down those agreements.

Networking giant Cisco also said it would start to fully wind down operations in Russia and Belarus.

Russia has grown increasingly economically isolated since The Invasion , as The West and allies impose sanctions and international companies head for the exits.

The country is now working on legislation that would punish foreign companies seeking to leave, allowing the government to seize their assets and impose criminal penalties, according to the Reuters news agency.

An artist and Ukrainian refugee says her work has been " full of inspiration and life" since arriving in the UK.

Maria, who studied at the Lviv Academy of Art, fled Ukraine two months ago.

Her work has been featured in an exhibition focusing on art created by migrants and refugees at St Paul's Church in Bedford.

" I'm very grateful to English People . . God has given me special energy so I can create new paintings here, " she says.

Just a few months ago, students in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv could hardly have imagined ending their school year in A War zone.

Now, in place of Prom Night , some of them turned out for a photo shoot among The Ruins of war with photographer Stanislav Senyk.

Source of news: bbc.com