President Zelensky this morning made an appeal to the European Union, requesting that the bloc grant Ukraine ‘immediate’ membership
Zelensky also said Ukrainian prisoners with combat experience will be released
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union.
Zelensky was pictured signing a document associated with the application earlier today, hours after he made an appeal to the EU to grant his country ‘immediate’ membership as part of a special procedure in the face of the Russian assault.
The Ukrainian leader – a former comedian who came to power in 2019 – gave the impassioned statement in a video address as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators prepared to sit down for their first face-to-face talks since Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade last Thursday.
He also announced this morning that Ukrainian prisoners with combat experience will be released from jail and allowed to serve their debt to society on the front lines of the conflict with Russia.
The president, who has gained plaudits from around the globe for his response to Russian aggression, said inmates will be able to ‘compensate for their guilt in the hottest spots’.
‘Under martial law, Ukrainians with real combat experience will be released from custody and will be able to compensate for their guilt in the hottest spots of the conflict,’ Zelensky said.
‘We have taken a decision which is not easy from the moral point of view, but which is useful from the point of view of our defences.
‘The key is now defence.’
‘We appeal to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure,’ the 44-year-old leader said in a new video address.
‘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.’
He said 16 children had died during the first four days of Moscow’s assault and another 45 were wounded as he hailed ‘Ukrainian heroes.’
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The UN’s human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said Monday that at least 102 civilians, including seven children, had been killed but warned the real numbers were probably far higher.
‘Ukrainians have shown the world who we are. And Russia has shown what it has become,’ Zelensky said.
European Union leaders are likely to discuss the possibility of Ukrainian membership at an informal summit in March, a senior EU official said today, adding the issue was important for Ukraine in discussions with Russia on ending the conflict.
‘I think one of the reasons that this is important for President Zelensky is also potentially in some of the discussions with Russia on a way out,’ the official said referring to talks to end the conflict, before adding that no process had been started yet.
‘On the application (of Ukraine for EU membership) I think it’s important not to get ahead of ourselves. It obviously has not yet been received, but this whole question of the Ukraine situation is something that’s very much on the minds of the leaders,’ said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Zelensky also urged Russian soldiers to lay down their weapons during his video address this morning.
‘Abandon your equipment. Get out of here. Don’t believe your commanders. Don’t believe your propagandists. Just save your lives,’ Zelensky said.
He claimed that more than 4,500 Russian soldiers had already lost their lives during the Kremlin’s assault.
Russian authorities have admitted their forces have sustained casualties but have not yet given an official death toll.
Zelensky rounded off the presidential address on the fifth day of the Russian invasion by thanking the West for its support.
‘Support of our anti-war coalition is unconditional and unprecedented. Each of us is a warrior. And I am sure that each of us will win,’ he said.
Zelensky’s latest video address comes after Kyiv survived another night under Russian attack, with Putin’s ‘demoralised and exhausted’ troops suffering ‘heavy losses’ trying and failing to break through defences in the city’s outskirts, according to a top Ukrainian general.
MailOnline