Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted Russia will escalate its attacks this week as European Union leaders consider whether to back Kyiv's bid to join the bloc and Moscow presses its campaign to win control of the country's east.
"Obviously, this week we should expect from Russia an intensification of its hostile activities," Zelenskyy said in his Sunday nightly video address. "We are preparing. We are ready."
Ukraine applied to join the EU four days after Russian troops poured across its border in February. The EU's executive, the European Commission, on Friday recommended that Ukraine receive candidate status.