Russia-Ukraine live updates | NATO warns of long Ukraine war as Russian assaults follow EU boost for Kyiv

Here are the latest developments from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the war-damaged southern city of Mykolaiv on June 18 for the first time since the Russian invasion in a rare trip outside Kyiv. Mr. Zelensky's office published a video of him looking at a badly damaged high-rise residential building in the city and holding a meeting with local officials. His visit comes a day after a Russian strike killed two people and injured 20 in the city.

President Vladimir Putin said at Russia’s showpiece investment conference on June 17 that the country’s economy will overcome sanctions that he called “reckless and insane.” Mr. Putin began his address to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum with a lengthy denunciation of countries that he contends want to weaken Russia, including the United States.

The European Union's executive recommended on June 17 that Ukraine and Moldova become candidates for membership, a milestone in their potential path from ex-Soviet republics to developed economies in the world's largest trading bloc. If the European Commission's decision is ratified as expected next week at a summit, it will be a morale boost for Kyiv and further Western snub for Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invasion of Ukraine in February.

The European Union’s executive arm recommended putting Ukraine on a path to membership, a symbolic boost for a country fending off a Russian onslaught that is killing civilians, flattening cities and threatening its very survival.

In another show of Western support, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to offer continued aid and military training.

The European allies’ latest embrace of Ukraine marked another setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched his war nearly four months ago, hoping to pull his ex-Soviet neighbour away from the West and back into Russia’s sphere of influence. - AP

The head of NATO said on June 19 that the war in Ukraine could last years and Ukrainian forces faced intensified Russian assaults after the EU executive recommended that Kyiv should be granted the status of a candidate to join the bloc.