UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces as he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on his second trip to the capital since Russia's invasion.
Mr Johnson, who Mr Zelenskyy described as a "great friend," posted a picture of himself with the Ukrainian president, with the words "Mr President, Volodymyr, It is good to be in Kyiv again".
The meeting was shrouded in secrecy due to security concerns and is Johnson's latest show of support for Mr Zelenskyy since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
The two leaders discussed supplies of weapons and air defences as well as further economic support for Ukraine and ramping up sanctions pressure on Russia, Mr Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermark said.
"Many days of this war have proved that Great Britain's support for Ukraine is firm and resolute. Glad to see our country's great friend Boris Johnson in Kyiv again," Mr Zelenskyy said.
Mr Johnson offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days at the meeting, his office said.
"My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail," Mr Johnson said.
EU backs Ukraine's memebrship bid
The European Union has given its blessing for Ukraine and its neighbour Moldova to become candidates to join the bloc, reaching out deep into the former Soviet Union for what would be a major geopolitical shift resulting from Russia's invasion.
"Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference, wearing Ukrainian colours: a yellow blazer over a blue blouse.
"We want them to live with us the European dream."
Though only the start of a process that may take many years, it puts Ukraine on course to realise an aspiration that would have been beyond its reach just months ago.
Ukraine applied to join the EU four days after Russian troops poured across its border in February.
Another four days later, so did Moldova and Georgia - smaller ex-Soviet states also contending with separatist regions occupied by Russia.
"It's the first step on the EU membership path that'll certainly bring our victory closer," Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted.
"Precisely because of the bravery of the Ukrainians, Europe can create a new history of freedom and finally remove the grey zone in eastern Europe between the EU and Russia."
One of President Vladimir Putin's main objectives in launching an invasion that has killed thousands of people, destroyed cities and driven millions to flight was to halt the eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance.
Friday's announcement underlined how the war has had the opposite effect: convincing Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
But Mr Putin said on Friday he had no objections to Ukraine joining the EU.
"We have nothing against it. It is not a military bloc. It's the right of any country to join economic unions," Putin said when asked about the prospects of Ukraine joining the EU.
Leaders of EU countries are expected to endorse the decision at a summit next week.
The leaders of the three biggest - Germany, France and Italy - conveyed their solidarity on Thursday by visiting Kyiv, along with the president of Romania.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu hailed a "strong signal of support for Moldova and our citizens" and said her government was committed to working hard on the process.
In St Petersburg, Mr Putin railed against the United States in a grievance-filled speech to an annual economic conference once billed as the "Russian Davos" but now largely boycotted by foreign dignitaries and corporate CEOs.
He denounced the United States for considering itself "God's emissary on earth," said US-led intransigence had given Russia no choice but to launch its "special military operation" in Ukraine and vowed to overcome sanctions.
"We are strong people and can cope with any challenge. Like our ancestors, we will solve any problem, the entire thousand-year history of our country speaks of this," Mr Putin said.
While recommending candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, the Commission held off for more volatile Georgia, which it said must first meet more conditions.
Joining the EU requires years of administrative reform - there are 35 "chapters of the acquis" setting out standards to meet in areas from judicial policy and financial services to food safety.
Nor is membership guaranteed - talks have been stalled for years with Turkey, a candidate since 1999.
If admitted, Ukraine would be the EU's largest country by area and its fifth most populous.
All three have recent histories of volatile politics, domestic unrest, entrenched organised crime and unresolved conflicts with Russian-backed separatists proclaiming sovereignty over territory protected by Russia's troops.
Ukrainian officials said their troops were still holding out in Severodonetsk, site of the worst recent fighting, on the east bank of the Seversky Donets river.
In the south, Ukraine has mounted a counter-offensive, claiming to have made inroads into the biggest swathe still held by Russia of the territory it seized in the invasion.
Ukraine claimed its forces had struck a Russian vessel bringing soldiers, weapons and ammunition to Russian-occupied Snake Island, a strategic Black Sea outpost, in what would be its first successful strike with a foreign anti-ship missile.
