Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused Moscow of using its armed forces to “take revenge” on Ukraine, but also on Europe supporting Kiev against the Russian invasion.
“Russia is concentrating its forces, we all know that. It wants to take revenge not only on Ukraine, but also on the free Europe,” the Ukrainian leader said at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kiev .
For Zelensky, “the dream of a peaceful Europe can only be realized with Ukraine and only with the defeat of Russia”.
The joint press conference took place shortly before a working meeting between von der Leyen’s team – based in the Ukrainian capital with 14 commissioners and the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell – and Volodymyr Zelensky’s.
A summit between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine with von der Leyen, Zelensky and European Council President Charles Michel will be held in Kyiv on Friday, several months after Ukraine gained its official status as a candidate country for the community bloc.
Zelensky has already said Friday’s summit is a “logical and important step” towards Ukraine’s “integration” into the EU.
However, the process of joining the EU can take several years, with the criteria set by Brussels, in terms considered very strict, namely with regard to the verification of anti-corruption measures, a problem that affects Ukraine.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than eight million to European countries – according to the most recent data from the UN. which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed 7,110 civilian deaths and 11,547 wounded since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are far below the actual ones.
Source: DN
