Green light for Ukraine to join EU

EU leaders gave Ukraine the green light to full membership of the bloc last night in a pointed show of defiance against Russia.

Brussels fast-tracked the application to ‘candidate’ status following Vladimir Putin’s invasion, but it may still be several years before Ukraine actually becomes an EU member state.

Russia has previously warned that membership would be equivalent to Ukraine joining Nato – something it views as a major threat.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola said: ‘ It will strengthen Ukraine, it will strengthen Europe. It is a decision for freedom and democracy and puts us on the right side of history.’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision, calling it ‘a unique and historic moment’ in relations with the 27-nation bloc. ‘Ukraine’s future is in the EU,’ he tweeted.

The move also sees Moldova granted candidate status in the EU’s most ambitious expansion since it welcomed Eastern European states after the Cold War.

The decision came as Boris Johnson issued a fresh plea to allies to stand by Ukraine and avoid pressuring the country into a premature peace deal. He said: ‘It is very important we give the Ukrainians strategic endurance because it could be a very difficult time. I know they are going to win.’

Meanwhile, retired Army general Sir Richard Shirreff warned there will never be peace in Europe while Putin is in the Kremlin. Nato’s former Deputy Supreme Commander Europe told the Chalke Valley History Festival, sponsored by the Daily Mail, that the Russian leader’s ‘poison’ has been ‘drilled so deep into Russian society it’s going to take generations to remove’.

And he said there could be worse people waiting in line behind Putin.

‘The right side of history’