European Union dashes Ukraine's hopes of quick membership

France's President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Council Charles Michel attend the European Union leaders summit to discuss joint defence ideas like the EU's "strategic compass" and Ukraine's bid to become a member of the EU, in Versailles near Paris, France, March 10, 2022. Ludovic MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

VERSAILLES, France (Reuters) - European Union leaders on Thursday condemned the "unspeakable suffering" Russia was inflicting on Ukraine but at a summit in France they refused Kyiv's appeal for rapid accession to the bloc and differed over the reach of sanctions against Moscow.

The Russian invasion - the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two - has upended Europe's security order and spurred EU capitals into rethinking what the bloc should stand for, its economic, defence and energy policies.