Ukraine Receives EU Candidate Status , As Putin’s War Rages On.
Ukraine Receives EU Candidate Status , As Putin’s War Rages On.
'The Guardian' reports that as EU leaders met in Brussels on June 23, they granted Ukraine candidate status.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set out to join the bloc nearly four months ago.
Typically, it takes years for a country to go from applicant to candidate, but the EU sped up the process because of Russia's attack.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to Twitter to address Ukraine's candidate status.
'The Guardian' reports that upon hearing news of the country's expected EU candidate status, Zelensky said, "This is like going into the light from the darkness.".
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, said the development , "would draw a line under decades of ambiguity and set it in stone: Ukraine is Europe, not part of the 'Russian world.'".
Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, commended the governing body for moving at "lightning speed.".
We need this clarity [on EU membership] to support the Ukrainian army, Ukrainian society, morally, psychologically, and to get the clear feeling and understanding of the direction of movement for Ukraine, Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, via 'The Guardian'