Ukraine moves closer to joining the EU

June 20, 2022

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has proposed that Ukraine become a membership candidate to join the bloc—the first step on a long road to EU membership, reports CNBC.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, June 17, that Ukraine should be welcomed by Europe.

The invitation comes shortly after some of the most powerful EU leaders traveled to Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv in a show of solidarity with the war-ravaged country.

Serhiy Haidai, the head of Luhansk’s Regional Administration, says the number of Russian bombings in Ukraine is “rising daily.” Russian forces are continuing to launch ground assaults on the strategically important Donbas city of Severodonetsk in an attempt to establish control.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine’s membership in the European Union requires Russia’s attention. “The possible entry of Ukraine into the EU requires increased attention of the Russian Federation in connection with the discovery of defense affiliation,” he said, according to a Russian agency Interfax report, translated by NBC News.

“The decision to give Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership requires increased attention of Moscow,” Peskov said, according to the Russian agency RIA.

Peskov’s comments followed a meeting between European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

Research contact: @CNBC