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(Reuters) – More than a dozen top European Union officials arrive in Kyiv on Thursday, a top-level demonstration of support following new pledges of military aid as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears.

While the EU backs Ukraine and supports democratic and economic reforms there, Kyiv’s hopes to quickly join the 27-nation EU are set to be dashed.

Here is why – and details about EU accession:

* Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said he wanted Ukraine to join the European Union in two years and a liberal Belgian EU lawmaker said teasingly he dreamt of it happening over the next five. In reality, that is most likely to take much longer.

The last country to have joined the EU was Croatia in 2013, a decade after formally applying. Ukraine’s neighbour Poland took 20 years until joining in 2004.

Ukraine applied to join shortly after the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion and last June received a formal candidate status from the EU, which cast it as a bold geo-political move.

* To be allowed in, Ukraine needs to fulfil extensive criteria from political stability including democratic institutions guaranteeing the respect of the rule of law and human rights to economic ability to withstand more competition.

Ukraine will have to transpose its national law to extensive EU legal standards from climate to labour to health, among others.

While the bloc recognises progress so far, it stresses Ukraine needs to do more to build a credible track-record of fighting endemic corruption.

Beyond that, the EU highlights reforms necessary to ensure that courts are free from political meddling and the rights of minorities respected in Ukraine.

* Accession criteria do not specifically say a country at war cannot become an EU member but the bloc does not want to import territorial conflicts. It did, however, allow Cyprus to join in 2004 despite Nicosia not controlling the whole island since Turkey’s 1974 invasion.

Turkey, a NATO ally, has seen its own EU membership negotiations unravel in recent years as President Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on critics following an attempted coup in 2016 undermined democracy there and soured ties with the bloc.

The negotiations started in 2005 after decades of Turkey seeking a formal start to an EU membership bid, dovetailed with Erdogan’s first economic reforms in power as prime minister from 2003 that made Ankara an important emerging market economy and trade partner.

* All EU countries must agree to take a new peer in. Beyond Ukraine meeting the complex criteria, it would also have to overcome reluctance from several founding states including France and the Netherlands to expand the bloc more to the east.

EU enlargement talks have stalled since 2018 as the current members cannot agree whether to admit other official candidates Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.

The bloc is also divided on awarding formal candidate status to other hopefuls Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Georgia.

With some 44 million people, Ukraine would be the fifth-biggest EU country after Germany, France, Italy and Spain, giving it large influence on the bloc’s decisions.

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More than a dozen top European Union officials arrive in Kyiv on Thursday with promises of more military, financial and political aid, a symbolic trip meant to highlight support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears.

But the EU is set to dash Ukraine’s hopes of being swiftly allowed membership, stressing the need for more anti-corruption measures, and unwilling to admit a country at war, the biggest armed conflict in Europe since World War Two.

“It is a very strong signal that we are in Kyiv during the war. It’s a signal to the Ukrainian people. It’s a signal to Russia. It’s a signal to the world,” said a senior EU official.

On Thursday, top members of the EU’s executive European Commission will meet their counterparts in the Ukrainian government. On Friday the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the chairman of the 27 EU national leaders, Charles Michel, will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The first such gathering in the Ukrainian capital since the war started on Feb. 24, 2022, caps a fortnight during which the West pledged significant new weapons deliveries to Ukraine to help it battle against an expected new Russian offensive. Moscow has denounced these Western pledges as provocations.

The allies will discuss sending even more weapons and money to Ukraine, boosting access for Ukraine’s products to the EU market, helping Ukraine cover energy needs, slapping new sanctions against Russia, prosecuting the leadership in Moscow for the war and extending the EU no-roaming mobile calls zone to Ukraine.

Among those travelling to Kyiv is the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, who is to announce the doubling of the number of Ukrainian troops to be trained by the bloc to 30,000 this year, and 25 million euros for demining areas recaptured by Ukraine.

So far, the 27-nation EU has earmarked nearly 60 billion euros ($65 bln) in aid to Ukraine, according to officials, including nearly 12 billion euros of military support and 18 billion euros promised to help run the country this year.

Despite much admiration for Ukraine’s resistance and praise for moves to crack down on corruption, the EU refuses to offer Kyiv a fast track to membership.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said he wanted Ukraine to join the European Union in two years and a liberal Belgian EU lawmaker said teasingly he dreamt of it happening over the next five. In reality, that is most likely to take much longer.

“Some may want to speculate about the end game but the simple truth is that we are not there yet,” said another EU official.

Instead of committing to dates, EU officials have listed multiple conditions to join from political and economic stability to adopting EU laws from climate to social to health standards.

The EU would stress its “commitment to support Ukraine’s further European integration” after it formally gave it membership candidate status last June, and go on to say, according to a draft joint statement seen by Reuters:

“The EU will decide on further steps once all conditions … are fully met. Ukraine underlined its determination to meet the necessary requirements in order to start accession negotiations as soon as possible,” according to the document.

While recognising progress made by Ukraine on fighting corruption, the EU says the country must build a credible track record over time to shed its reputation for endemic graft, with Transparency International watchdog’s ranking Ukraine as one of the worst at 116th out of 180 states.

In a bid to demonstrate that it can be a steward of billions of dollars in Western aid, Zelenskiy’s government has cracked down on high-level corruption in recent days.

Ukraine’s calls for long-range rockets or fighter jets will equally be left unanswered by the EU this week.

The bloc’s looming new sanctions against Russia are also all but certain to fall short of expectations in Ukraine, which has called for the targeting of Russia’s nuclear industry. ($1 = 0.9172 euros)

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The Philippines has granted the United States expanded access to its military bases, the countries said on Thursday, amid mounting concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions over self-ruled Taiwan.

Statements from the defence ministries of both countries said Washington would be given access to four more locations under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) dating back to 2014.

The United States had allocated more than $82 million toward infrastructure investments at the existing five sites under the EDCA, the statements said.

EDCA allows U.S. access to Philippine military bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and the building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not a permanent presence.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Manila for talks as Washington seeks to extend its security options in the Philippines as part of efforts to deter any move by China against self-ruled Taiwan.

The statements did not specify where the new locations would be. The former Philippine military chief said previously the United States had requested access to bases on the northern land mass of Luzon, the closest part of the Philippines to Taiwan, and on the island of Palawan, facing the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Austin also met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the presidential palace on Thursday before meeting with his counterpart Carlito Galvez.

His visit follows a three-day trip by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to the Philippines in November which included a stop on Palawan.

Shares in India’s Adani group of companies plunged on Thursday after the tycoon Gautam Adani-led conglomerate shelved a $2.5 billion share sale amid a turbulent market, citing the need to insulate investors from potential losses.

Adani on Wednesday called off the share sale as a rout sparked by a U.S. short-seller’s criticisms wiped billions more off the value of the Indian tycoon’s stocks.

Shares in Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) dropped 8%, after opening 10% higher, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) fell 10%.

Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) was down 10%, Adani Power (ADAN.NS) lost 5%, Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS) sank 5% while Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) tumbled 10%.

The withdrawal of the Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) share marked a stunning setback for Adani, the school dropout-turned-billionaire whose fortunes rose rapidly in recent years in line with the stock values of his businesses.

“Today the market has been unprecedented, and our stock price has fluctuated over the course of the day. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the company’s board felt that going ahead with the issue will not be morally correct,” Adani said late on Wednesday.

Citigroup’s (C.N) wealth unit has stopped extending margin loans to its clients against securities of Adani group, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Citi declined to comment.

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Ukraine’s military said its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia’s Wagner private military group said it took control of the village.

* Russia accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately striking a hospital in a Russian-held area of eastern Ukraine on Saturday in what it said was a war crime that killed 14 people and wounded 24 patients and medical staff. There was no immediate response to the allegations from Ukraine. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the situation at the front as “extremely acute“, especially in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive.

* Tearful mourners in Kyiv commemorated a British volunteer aid worker, Andrew Bagshaw, killed while attempting a rescue mission from the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to contacts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz though has no phone call scheduled with him, a Kremlin spokesman said. Scholz, who last week approved providing Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukrainian forces, was quoted in a published interview as saying he would speak to Putin again but the onus was on the Russian leader to withdraw troops from Ukraine “to end this horrendous, senseless war…”

* Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov will hold a meeting with Lynne Tracy, the new U.S. ambassador, early next week, RIA news agency reported.

* Zelenskiy condemned the idea of neutrality in sports at a time when his country’s athletes fight and die in war, while their Russian counterparts might be allowed to compete.

* Russia said it will not hold annual talks with Japan on renewing a pact that allows Japanese fishermen to operate near disputed islands, saying Japan had taken anti-Russian measures.

* Expedited talks are under way among Ukraine and its allies about its requests for long-range missiles that it says are needed to prevent Russia from destroying its cities, a top aide to President Zelenskiy said.

* German arms-maker Rheinmetall is ready to greatly boost output of tank and artillery munitions to satisfy strong demand in Ukraine and the West, and may start producing HIMARS multiple rocket launchers in Germany, CEO Armin Papperger told Reuters.

* Ukraine has been promised 321 heavy tanks by several countries, its ambassador to France said.

* Poland will send an additional 60 tanks to Ukraine on top of 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it has pledged, the Polish prime minister said in an interview with Canadian television.

* Ukraine imposed sanctions on 182 Russian and Belarusian companies, and three individuals, in the latest of a series of steps by Zelenskiy to block their links to his country.

* On a trip to Turkey and the Middle East this week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s top sanctions official will warn countries and businesses that they could lose U.S. market access if they do business with entities subject to U.S. curbs as Washington cracks down on Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

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A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737.

George Rose/Getty Images

• Southwest cancelled thousands of flights in December, leaving passengers stranded over Christmas.
• Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg gave the airline a deadline for refunds, but it came and went.
• Southwest has said it is still working daily to process requests for refunds and reimbursements.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gave Southwest Airlines a deadline to issue refunds to those who were impacted by the flight cancellation chaos over Christmas, but a month later some passengers said they were still waiting.

Hoards of travelers experienced flight cancelations over Christmas, but Southwest saw the worst of it. The airline experienced an operational meltdown, cancelling thousands of flights with the disruptions rippling throughout the travel industry.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote a letter to Robert Jordan, the CEO of Southwest, on December 28, calling the debacle “unacceptable” and outlining steps the airline needed to take in response. He said the law required Southwest to “provide prompt refunds” for canceled flights that are not rebooked.

“This means Southwest must provide refunds within seven business days if a passenger paid by credit card, and within 20 days if a passenger paid by cash, check, or other means,” the letter said, while also calling on the airline to cover ground transportation, hotels, and meals for stranded passengers.

But as of this week, more than a month has passed and some passengers said they are still waiting.

A high school basketball team from Seattle, Washington, that got stranded in Las Vegas for five days over Christmas after Southwest canceled their flight had only received a partial refund as of Tuesday, the coaches told Insider. One coach and his wife also spent over $10,000 on incidental expenses to take care of the team and were still waiting on those reimbursement requests to be reviewed.

John Erickson, a Southwest passenger who was stuck in Denver for three days after Southwest canceled his flight, told WFLA the airline told him it would take months to receive his refund.

In a statement provided to Insider, Southwest rebuked the possibility it engaged in unrealistic flight schedules.

“Our holiday flight schedule was thoughtfully designed and offered to our Customers with the backing of a solid plan to operate it, and with ample staffing,” the statement said, adding: “Our systems and processes became stressed while working to recover from multiple days of flight cancelations across 50 airports in the wake of an unprecedented storm.”

Southwest previously told Insider last week it was still working daily to process refund and reimbursement requests from passengers.

When contacted by Insider about Southwest not meeting Buttigieg’s timeframe, a Department of Transportation spokesperson said they are still investigating “Southwest Airlines’ holiday debacle that stranded millions.”

The spokesperson said DOT “will hold Southwest accountable if it fails” to issue timely refunds or reimbursements. They added that the agency is also investigating “whether Southwest executives engaged in unrealistic scheduling of flights which under federal law is considered an unfair and deceptive practice.”

Passengers who have not received refunds can also file a complaint with the DOT, and Buttigieg has said the agency will follow up on every one of them to ensure they’re taken care of.

DOT has not been clear about how it plans to hold airlines accountable or enforce its deadlines. John Breyault, the vice president for public policy at the National Consumers League, told The New York Times last month that DOT has been hesitant to hold the airlines accountable, adding: “While Secretary Buttigieg has talked a tough talk, particularly over the past few months, we have yet to see that really translate into action.”

Have a news tip or a travel story to share? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.

Daniel Caldwell was sentenced to 68 months in prison.

Department of Justice

• A Marine veteran was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison on a Jan. 6 charge on Wednesday.
• Daniel Caldwell, 51, has been in pre-trial custody since he was arrested in Feb. 2021.
• Prosecutors say he was caught on camera assaulting police officers and later bragging about it.

A Marine veteran who was caught on camera assaulting a line of police officers with a chemical irritant on Jan. 6, and later bragged about the attack in a video interview was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Wednesday in one of the steepest sentences stemming from the insurrection thus far.

Daniel Caldwell, 51, of Texas, has spent nearly the last two years in pretrial custody after he was arrested on six counts related to the riot in February 2021. Caldwell pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon in September 2022.

US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Caldwell to 68 months in prison on Wednesday, as well as $2,000 in restitution for damage to the Capitol. Prosecutors had requested 70 months. 

Prosecutors say a YouTube video posted on January 2021 shows Caldwell “spraying a mist” at police who were trying to defend the building from rioters. In a separate video, Caldwell discussed the assault, telling the person behind the camera that he “got like 15 of them,” referring to the officers.

—Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) August 13, 2021

 

In court on Wednesday, Caldwell offered a tearful apology while expressing remorse for his behavior on Jan. 6, according to Politico, asking the judge for mercy and describing the ways in which he has tried to better himself in the two years since the attack, including through reading self-help books while in custody.

Kollar-Kotelly, however, refused to yield, calling Caldwell an insurrectionist several times during the hearing, according to the outlet, and saying his use of the chemical irritant nearly broke the police line and left several officers with psychological and physical trauma. 

“I must face my actions head-on,” Caldwell said in court on Wednesday, per Politico. “I hope that you and our country never have to face another day like January 6th.”

Robert L. Jenkins, an attorney for Caldwell, told Insider that he and his client understand the judge’s motivations in handing down such a steep sentence, but believe 68 months was “much higher than what it needed to be,” both in light of Caldwell’s individual conduct and other sentences that have been imposed in similar cases.

Caldwell will receive credit for the nearly two years he has already spent in custody.

“Being a Marine, I should have known better. … I wish I could take it back, but I can’t,” he reportedly said.

At least 978 people have been charged in connection with the attack thus far, and more than 470 people have pleaded guilty. 

India’s Adani group will review its capital raising plan once the market stabilises, chairman Gautam Adani said, after flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) withdrew a $2.5 billion share sale citing the need to insulate investors from potential losses.

Adani Enterprises late on Wednesday called off the share sale as a rout sparked by a U.S. short-seller’s criticisms wiped billions more off the value of the Indian tycoon’s stocks.

In a video address on Thursday, Adani said the ports-to-airports conglomerate’s cash flow has been “very strong” and that it has an “impeccable track record” of fulfilling debt obligations.

On the withdrawal of the offer, he said the interest of investors was the chief consideration for the move.