Ukraine's Zelenskiy looks to EU offer as Russia pounds cities

Ukrainian service members patrol an area in the city of Sievierodonetsk, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine June 20, 2022. Picture taken June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak

KYIV/KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday hailed the European Union's expected offer of candidate status for his battle-weary nation, as Russian forces pounded Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv and the eastern Donbas region.

European leaders will formally set Ukraine on the long road to EU membership at a summit in Brussels on Thursday. Though mainly symbolic, the move will help lift national morale at a very difficult time in a four-month conflict that has killed thousands, displaced millions and flattened towns and cities.