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EU Commission Backs Ukraine’s Accession Progress, Flags Pressure on Anti‑Corruption Bodies

Brussels plans technical work on negotiation clusters to sustain momentum despite Hungary’s veto.

Overview

  • Adopting its 2025 enlargement package, the European Commission praised Kyiv’s completed screening and said Ukraine meets conditions to open clusters 1, 2 and 6, while warning about rising pressure on anti‑corruption institutions and civil society.
  • Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the Commission will seek a Council mandate to proceed at expert level on cluster preparations before formal political openings blocked by Hungary.
  • Urban fighting continued inside Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian forces reported search‑and‑strike operations, partial pushbacks and a restored logistics corridor, as the General Staff logged 103 combat engagements on November 4.
  • Facing winter energy strain, Zelensky said Ukraine still lacks about $750 million for gas imports after an EU pledge of roughly €127 million, and the government allocated 6 billion hryvnias to harden around 120 energy sites against evolving drone attacks.
  • Zelensky urged an EU decision this year to use frozen Russian assets for a proposed $140 billion reparations credit, as Ukrainian services reported sustained strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure and the SBU claimed a significant share of refinery capacity is offline.