President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Ukraine's application for membership in the European Union.
"The President of Ukraine has just signed a historic document - Ukraine's application for membership in the European Union," said the deputy head of the Office of the President, Andrey Sibyga.
A joint statement was also signed together with the head of the Verkhovna Rada, Stefanchuk, and the country's prime minister, Shmyhal. The documents are already on their way to Brussels.
Before that, on the morning of February 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the European Union regarding the accession of Ukraine under the accelerated special procedure. According to him, Ukrainians deserve EU membership.
Many heads of state of the European Union have already supported such a proposal.
"We are appealing to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine under a new special procedure. We are grateful to our partners for being with us. But our goal is to be together with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal. I am sure that this is fair. I am sure that we deserve it. I am confident that this is possible," said Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to the procedure, the application for EU membership must be sent to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Now the Council is headed by France.
After the invasion of Russia, several EU countries called to provide Ukraine with the prospect of membership, and Slovakia proposed to create a special procedure for the accession of Ukraine to the EU.
The day before, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that she considers Ukraine "one of us" and wants to see it in the EU. Despite this, she did not specify the chances of Ukraine joining the EU, especially under the accelerated program.
