ISTANBUL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday urged support for EU accession of Ukraine, Moldova and Western Balkan countries, saying it’s time to move forward.
“Supporting Moldova, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans on their path to EU membership is critical. We need real progress,” Zelenskyy said in an address to a meeting of the European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen.
He said Ukraine has completed its screening process as part of its EU accession negotiations, and is ready to open talks on Cluster 1, which focuses on the fundamentals of the accession process.
Kyiv officially opened accession talks with the EU in June 2024, after being granted candidate status in 2022 after beginning of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Moldova is also a candidate country, having simultaneously acquired this status with Ukraine, while several Western Balkan states remain in different stages of the EU’s potential enlargement process.
The Ukrainian president argued that the recent drone incursions reported in Europe show Russia “still feels bold enough” to escalate the conflict.
“And it was never just about Ukraine. Russia has always aimed to break the West, and Europe, in particular. Today, their strategy is simple: to divide Europe, to ignite arguments, to prevent us from finding common ground,” he added.
He said they must do the “exact opposite” of what Russia expects of them, which is to “act together” and “act with strength.”
Zelenskyy also touched on the topic of a “drone wall” along the EU’s eastern frontier, saying they are not just talking about one country but the entire continent itself.
“If the Russians dare to launch drones against Poland or violate the airspace of Northern European countries, it means this can happen anywhere,” he said, calling for a “fast and effective” response to such situations.
The Ukrainian leader also urged participation in the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative jointly launched by NATO and Washington in August, noting that the program supports not only Kyiv, but bolsters ties between Europe and the US.
The president called for further sanctions against Russia, and for the completion of work related to Ukraine’s security guarantees.