Zelensky hails EU backing as intense shelling hits Donbas
KYIV, June 18, (AFP) - President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Brussels' support for Ukraine's European Union bid a historic achievement, as his country's eastern Donas region faced intense Russian shelling.
Brussels spearheaded a powerful show of European solidarity on Friday by backing Kyiv's bid for EU candidate status, an endorsement that could add Ukraine to the list of countries vying for membership as early as next week.
The European Commission is set to meet at their Brussels summit on Thursday with all 27 leaders already backing Kyiv's candidacy and the heads of the bloc's biggest members -France, Germany and Italy -- giving full-throated support to the idea.
Even though EU membership could still be years away, Zelensky called the decision a “historic achievement”.
“Ukrainian institutions maintain resilience even in conditions of war. Ukrainian democratic habits have not lost their power even now,” Zelensky said in a video address.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had “nothing against” Ukraine joining the EU, saying it was “their sovereign decision to join economic unions or not” -- unlike the security risk he sees in Kyiv joining NATO.
But he said European Union membership would turn Ukraine into a “semi-colony” of the West.
On Friday, the European Commission gave formal backing to the bid, and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made her position clear by donning a striking jacket in Ukraine's national colours.
Moscow has turned up the pressure on Western allies by sharply reducing flows of natural gas in its pipelines to western Europe, driving up energy prices. Several European countries, including Italy and Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs.