Ukraine war top developments: Zelenskyy appeals for EU membership; Biden heads to Poland

A month into the war in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to EU leaders, who had gathered on Thursday in Brussels, to quickly accept the Eastern European nation’s application to join the bloc. Meanwhile, in a bid to show Western resolve against the Russian offensive, US President Joe Biden is set to visit the Polish town of Rzeszow, about 80 kilometers away from the Ukrainian border, AFP reported. 
Here are the top developments on the Russia-Ukraine war:
🔴 In a series of meetings in Brussels on Thursday, US President Joe Biden and his Western allies vowed increased sanctions on Russia and more humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Biden said that the US would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, but added that they may prefer to stay closer to home, AP reported. He also said that the US would provide an additional $1 billion for food, medicine, and other supplies. But the Western leaders were unable to offer Ukraine the more robust military assance that Zelenskyy has been pleading for. 
🔴 Ukraine has claimed that it destroyed a Russian military landing ship called Orsk, which was offloading armored vehicles and tanks at the port of Berdyansk, CNN reported. The US and UK have said that Ukraine has most likely attacked “high-value targets” in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including the ship and ammunition depots at Berdiansk.  
🔴 Chinese Foreign Miner Wang Yi is set to visit New Delhi on Friday. Wang and External Affairs Miner S Jaishankar are expected to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during their meeting today.  
Brussels: U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and European Council President Charles Michel arrive for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 24, 2022. (AP)
🔴 Russia is likely to turn to ‘dumb’ bombs and artillery as it is quickly running out of precision guided munitions, according to Reuters. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl speculated that he did not believe President Vladimir Putin wanted to have an all out conflict with NATO.
🔴 Ukrainian President Zelenskyy shared a video of his appearance at the EU summit, where he thanked European Council members for their support, but said that their sanctions on Russia had come “a little late”. He pointed out that if the sanctions had been preventative, instead of retaliatory, Russia may not have launched a full-blown attack on Ukraine. “You blocked Nord Stream 2. We are grateful to you. And rightly so. But it was also a little late. Because if it had been in time, Russia would not have created a gas crisis. At least there was a chance,” he said. 
🔴 US President Joe Biden will visit the eastern Polish town of Rzeszow, located near the country’s border with Ukraine. The trip is meant to demonstrate Washington’s willingness to defend NATO allies amid the war in Ukraine. Biden has previously warned that Russian aggression on NATO soil could potentially lead to ‘World War III’. 
🔴 Australia on Friday imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and members of his family, citing the country’s continuous strategic support to Russia.