EU president Ursula Von Der Leyen has said that she wants Ukraine to join the European Union, claiming that “they belong to us.”
The remarks were made this week amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We have a process with Ukraine that is, for example, integrating the Ukrainian market into the Single Market. We have very close cooperation on the energy grid, for example,” Von Der Leyen told EU-funded Euronews.
“So on many topics where we will work very closely together, and indeed, over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in.”
The comments come as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urges Von Der Leyen to grant Ukraine immediate access to the European Union.
“We ask the European Union for Ukraine’s immediate accession via a new special procedure,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
“Our goal is to be together with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be on an equal footing. I’m sure it’s fair. I’m sure it’s possible.”
The EU has already agreed to send significant amounts of arms to Ukraine, with Germany alone supplying as many as 500 stinger missiles and 1,000 anti-tank weapons to the Ukrainian forces.
Russia has set its nuclear-armed forces on high alert in the face of what it calls NATO aggression, with the UN’s energy authority organising an emergency meeting this week.