Ukraine Vows to Prevail As it Battles Russian Assaults; Russia holding two missing American fighters in custody; Kremlin says captured Americans in Ukraine should bear responsibility ‘for crimes’; Russia Strikes Ukrainian Positions, Residential Areas in Donbas, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Ukraine vows to prevail as it battles Russian assaults:

With a blessing for its EU ambitions and a pledge of unwavering support from Britain, Ukraine vowed on Saturday to prevail against Moscow as it battled Russian assaults near a key eastern city and multiple locations came under shell and missile attack.

European Union countries are expected at a summit next week to grant Ukraine EU candidate status following a recommendation from the bloc’s executive on Friday, putting Kyiv on course to realise an aspiration seen as out of reach before Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, even if actual membership could take years. read more

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Friday and offered a stepped-up training for Ukrainian forces. read more Back in Britain on Saturday, he stressed the need to avoid “Ukraine fatigue” after nearly four months of war.

“The Russians are grinding forward inch by inch and it is vital for us to show what we know to be true, which is that Ukraine can win and will win,” he told reporters. read more “When Ukraine fatigue is setting in, it is very important to show that we are with them for the long haul and we are giving them the strategic resilience that they need.”

In an op-ed for London’s Sunday Times newspaper, Johnson said this meant ensuring “Ukraine receives weapons, equipment, ammunition and training more rapidly than the invader.” —>READ MORE HERE

Russia holding two missing American fighters in custody: state mediaL

Two American fighters who went missing while defending Ukraine are apparently alive and in Russian custody, Russian state media reported.

Former US servicemen Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, spoke with the Russian state agency RT Friday from a detention center in a Moscow-controlled section of the Donbas region, the outlet said.

The report hints that Drueke and Huynh may face the death penalty for fighting alongside Ukrainian troops — the same sentence handed down by separatists earlier this month to two Brits and a Moroccan captured by Russian forces.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to pave the way for such a ruling, telling MSNBC that Drueke and Huynh were “soldiers of fortune,” not covered by the protections of international law.

Asked if they were prisoners of war — a classification that would entitle them to the protections of the Geneva Convention — Peskov declined to discuss “the juridical side of their capture.” —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Kremlin says captured Americans in Ukraine should bear responsibility ‘for crimes’ – RIA+++++

+++++Russia Strikes Ukrainian Positions, Residential Areas in Donbas+++++

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