Ukraine Wins EU Candidate Status, A Major Slap In The Face Of Putin

Ukraine was admitted as a candidate for membership in the European Union (EU) late on Thursday, June 23. 2022, a daring geopolitical action precipitated by Russia's invasion, which Kyiv and Brussels welcomed as a "historic occasion," Pavel Polityuk and Vitalii Hnidyi reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The Kyiv skyline

Starting on the long path to EU membership will be a huge boost to morale in the embattled country. "Ukraine's future is in the EU," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter after the official announcement. "A historic moment," European Council chief Charles Michel tweeted, adding: "Our future is together."

The approval of the Kyiv government's appeal by EU leaders convening in Brussels would enrage Russia, which is struggling to impose its will on Ukraine while losing thousands of soldiers and goodwill abroad, with only 9% of all countries supporting its invasion of Ukraine.

Moldova also became an official candidate on Thursday, indicating the EU's ambition to expand its reach into the former Soviet Union.

Friday marks four months since Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched troops across the border in what he terms a "special military operation" prompted in part by Western encroachment on Russia's sphere of influence.

The conflict, which the West regards as an illegitimate war of aggression by Russia, has killed thousands, displaced millions, and destroyed cities, while food and energy exports have been curtailed, affecting countries all over the world.

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