Ukraine claims EU and NATO will not be strong without Kyiv's support

Ukraine believes that, just as the EU and NATO need Kyiv, NATO and the EU need the war-torn country too. On May 13, Andriy Yermak, the head of the President's Office, stated that without Ukraine today, neither the European Union nor NATO will be strong. Yermak further emphasized that Ukraine needs Europe's unity to support it, particularly on its path to EU membership, and to impose more effective sanctions on Russia, particularly the oil embargo.

Yermak said, "Today, our country, being neither a member of NATO nor a member of the EU, has been holding back one of the world's most powerful armies for so many days. And today, the European Union and NATO must finally understand that as much as Ukraine needs the EU and NATO, so much does NATO and the EU need Ukraine. I believe that without Ukraine today, neither the European Union nor NATO will be strong."

Andriy Yermak believes that Ukraine deserves special, unprecedented processes for EU membership. According to the President's Office chief, Ukraine should be designated as a candidate for EU membership in June, otherwise, it will send an extremely negative and incorrect message.

Yermak is also convinced that a tough sanctions policy against Russia and Ukraine's accession to the EU is essential for Kyiv's and Europe's mutual security. Andriy Yermak further claimed that Ukraine will be one of the founders and leaders of the new security system that emerges after the war.

Russia-Ukraine War

The war between Russia and Ukraine has reached day 80, with Russia intensifying its offensive in eastern and southern Ukraine. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has approved a $40 billion aid package for Kyiv. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on the other hand, accused the UN of failing to find a political solution for Ukraine.

Further, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that the fighting in Kyiv would end only when Russian troops have restored all occupied regions. Moreover, according to Serhiy Haidai, the Governor of Luhansk Oblast, Russian bombardment has destroyed over 50 residences in the region thus far. He went on to say that the devastation occurred in and around the towns of Hirske and Popasna.

Image: AP