Ukraine is now, de facto, NATO’s second army — Zelenskyy
He said this in a comment to journalists.
‘Ukraine is today, de facto, NATO’s second army, which is on a par with the world’s second-strongest army. And that is why we – and we alone – are needed by NATO de jure. This is already a fact recognised by all leaders. Putin will remain in the Kremlin until his death, and he has one goal: the restoration of the Soviet Union. Without Ukraine, this is impossible, and that is why things are so difficult for us, dear Ukrainians,” he said.
Zelenskyy also described the opening of the first round of negotiations with the EU as ‘historic’.
“Well done to our partners; they are our friends. We will open all the clusters; I am certain of this. We have earned it, and we will not give up. We have weathered Orbán, and we have not compromised our dignity. There is a lot of work ahead — I am confident we will overcome everything,” he said.
As a reminder, on 15 June, all 27 EU member states agreed to open the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s and Moldova’s accession to the bloc. Prior to this, Hungary’s former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had blocked any progress on Ukraine’s European integration, but after 16 years in power, he suffered defeat in the parliamentary elections.
Peter Magyar’s new government has signalled a more measured approach, although it has not openly supported Ukraine’s membership. Mátyás explained that Budapest had agreed to open the first negotiation chapter for Ukraine, as Kyiv had officially included an agreement on the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia in its initial action plan on minorities.
However, Hungary’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Anita Orbán, stated that the process of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union could be automatically suspended if Kyiv fails to fulfil the agreements regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.
As a reminder, it was previously reported that the head of the President’s Office, Kirill Budanov, outlined what the post-war Ukrainian economy would look like.
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