A day after signing a document officially calling for Ukraine’s entry into the European Union (EU), the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, made this Tuesday (1st) an appeal to the leaders of the bloc.
“Prove that you are with us. Prove that you are not going to leave us. Prove that you are really Europeans, and then life will conquer death, and light will conquer darkness,” Zelensky told the European Parliament, via videoconference, in a speech translated into English by an interpreter in tears.
“The European Union will be much stronger with us, for sure. Without you, Ukraine will be lonely,” he added, aware that an eventual accession process to the European bloc will be long and difficult.
EU lawmakers, many wearing t-shirts bearing the Ukrainian flag or blue and yellow scarves and ribbons, gave the president a standing ovation. The Russian invasion arrives this Tuesday on the sixth day.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen then said that “this is a moment of truth for Europe” and that the way the bloc responds to Russia’s actions will “determine the future of the international system”. It announced the sending of 500 million euros (R$ 2.8 billion) to buy and deliver weapons to Ukraine, in addition to another 500 million euros for humanitarian aid, thus helping, for example, the reception of refugees arriving to countries in the bloc.
Zelensky’s speech came hours after Russian bombing hit the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. According to the Ukrainian emergency service, the attack killed seven people and injured 24 others.
The Ukrainian president called the Russian offensive on Kharkiv a “war crime” and “state terrorism”, in a video posted on his channel on the Telegram app, on which he also said that the priority is to defend Kiev. Satellite images captured during the night of Monday show a convoy of more than 60 kilometers in length formed by vehicles and artillery towards the capital. The most advanced part of the convoy was already close to Antonov Airport, about 25 kilometers from the city.​
On Sunday (27), Von der Leyen had already said that Ukraine belongs to the EU and that the bloc wants the country as a member. In an interview with Euronews, he stated that there is a process to integrate the Ukrainian market into the bloc’s common market. This Tuesday, she once again sided with Ukraine. “If [o presidente russo Vladimir] Putin was trying to divide the EU, weaken NATO [a aliança militar ocidental] and break the international community, he achieved the exact opposite.”
The Ukrainian leader asked the bloc to assess Ukraine’s entry as a matter of urgency and submit the request to a new special procedure. Eight nations in the central and eastern regions of the EU have asked for Ukraine to be granted candidate country status —Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. But Ukraine is aware that any accession process will be long and difficult, even if the country manages, after the war, not to fall under Moscow’s rule.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told Parliament after Zelensky’s speech that the bloc would have to seriously consider Ukraine’s “legitimate” request, but added: “It will be difficult, we know there are different opinions in Europe. [sobre a expansão do bloco]”.
The path to membership will require the commission to make a positive assessment of Ukraine’s potential candidacy, a process that can take up to 18 months. There would then be a transitional period of indefinite duration during which Ukraine would need to adopt all EU legislation.
German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz later said that “the bloodbath must end in Ukraine” adding that the situation is very dramatic and that Ukraine is fighting for its survival.
