John Kirby: Pentagon 　

It’s a tense week for Ukraine as it awaits to see whether it will be granted the status of a candidate country for the European Union.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he expects Russia to intensify its attacks on his country while it awaits the EU’s decision. Russia’s ground and tactical air operations continued to focus on the Donbas in eastern Ukraine over the weekend and more villages around the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk were pummeled by Russian artillery on Monday.

Elsewhere, there are growing concerns over the fate of two U.S. military veterans captured in Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Moscow wouldn’t guarantee that they won’t face the death penalty.

The Biden administration slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin for weaponizing food, a direct consequence of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.





For months, Russian warships have implemented a blockade of Ukraine’s ports in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a daily press briefing that the Biden administration was working with allies on ways to implement food corridors out of Ukraine. Kirby said Putin was “weaponizing food” and warned that the blockade will lead to food shortages as well as higher food prices across the globe.