On Europe Day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Council President António Costa discussed joint efforts to further Ukraine’s European integration, including preparations for the opening of clusters and future decisions.
“I spoke with the President of the European Council, António Costa I am grateful for his congratulations to Ukrainians and to Ukraine on Europe Day, and for all the support Europe has provided to Ukraine during our defense in the full-scale war,” Zelenskyy said on X Saturday.
The President of Ukraine emphasized that “we will defend our independence and our people’s right to freely choose their path. And in doing so, we will also defend the right of all European peoples to live as they themselves wish. Russia will not succeed in breaking Europe or fracturing it – there have been many attempts, but all have failed. And none will succeed.”
According to Zelenskyy, “joint work on Ukraine’s further European integration – Ukraine will take its place as a full member of the European Union” was also discussed. According to him, we are now preparing for the opening of clusters and further decisions.
“We also discussed recent steps in diplomacy and our arrangement, mediated by the United States, to carry out a prisoner exchange with Russia in a 1,000-for-1,000 format,” Zelenskyy added.
“I thank Europe for standing with Ukraine!” he summed up.