(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS-KYIV, JUN 21 - EU ministers on Tuesday backed granting war-torn Ukraine "candidate status" to join the bloc, ahead of a summit expected to formally greenlight the move later this week, France's Europe minister said. Clement Beaune said after a meeting with his counterparts that there was "a total consensus on moving these issues forward, and in particular for Ukraine the possibility of confirming candidate status as soon as possible".

Kyiv says sophisticated German artillery now deployed in Ukraine Kyiv Meanwhile, Ukraine said Tuesday it had "finally" deployed advanced German artillery system, in the latest delivery of the long-range, precision weapons that it has been calling for.

"Panzerhaubitze 2000 are finally part of 155 mm howitzer arsenal of the Ukrainian artillery," Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov wrote on social media, thanking his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht. (ANSA-AFP).