Ukraine expects the European Union’s executive to deliver a “positive” appraisal of its membership bid this week, a senior government official in Kyiv has said, adding it had carried out the reforms required of it.
The European Commission is expected in a report on Wednesday to recommend taking Ukraine one step closer to becoming a member of the bloc, EU officials say, a coveted prize for Kyiv as weariness creeps in more than 20 months after Russia’s invasion.
The report and recommendation, which will assess Ukraine across seven reform areas, will inform a key decision in December at a summit of the EU’s national leaders on whether to start formal membership negotiations with Kyiv.
“I think for the purposes of the assessment when it comes to the seven steps, everything which has been agreed has been implemented and done,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told Reuters in an interview.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Ukraine for making headway as she visited Kyiv on Saturday.
She told parliament that Ukraine had met over 90% of the conditions laid out to start formal membership talks.
Such talks typically take years before candidates meet extensive legal and economic criteria to join, and the bloc is wary of taking in a country at war.
Still, advancing Western integration is a top priority for Ukraine, where troops face battle fatigue and concerns swirl over the future of vital U.S. military aid.
The Commission said last June that Ukraine met two out of seven conditions the EU had set to start membership talks.
“I would say that the assessment would definitely be positive because we have been in a permanent contact with the European Commission, discussing the steps and negotiating the steps we managed to implement,” Ms Stefanishyna said.
She said Ms von der Leyen’s visit had been an endorsement of Kyiv’s policies and noted a series of Ukrainian reforms including restoring asset declarations for top officials and increasing transparency in political party financing and media ownership.
Ms Von der Leyen told a news conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday that Kyiv had made “excellent progress”.
“You are fighting an existential war and at the same time deeply reforming your country,” she said, highlighting reforms to Ukraine’s justice system, reining in oligarchs and tackling money laundering.
She expressed confidence that Ukraine would soon complete the remaining steps – related to fighting corruption and safeguarding minority rights – and advance on its EU path.
Mr Zelensky said Kyiv would deliver on the conditions, and that a positive EU decision would give fresh motivation to his country and troops.
“There will be no grey geo-political zones in Europe. We will secure a new basis for growth and development of Ukraine and all European countries. We will guarantee to our country and citizens real economic and social security,” he said.
His comments capped a week when Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said the war was moving towards attritional fighting and the Italian prime minister spoke of international fatigue with the war during a prank call that was later made public.
In good news for Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister expressed confidence that the EU would advance its bid to join.
Kyiv is expected to get a green light this week on the understanding that it does more to tackle graft and secure minority rights, the latter issue raised by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who prides himself on his contacts with Moscow.
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It comes as Russia launched a major air attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa last night, wounding at least eight people, setting ablaze trucks loaded with grain and damaging one of the city’s principal art galleries, officials said.
About 20 multi-storey buildings and more than two dozen cars were damaged in the attack, the Interior Ministry said.
Air defences shot down 15 out of 22 incoming Iranian-made “Shahed” drones and an X-59 missile, the air force said.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said 15 drones targeted the city’s port infrastructure. Warehouses and specialised vehicles were also damaged, and trucks carrying grain caught fire, though they were quickly put out, he said.
Russia has intensified its bombardments of Ukrainian ports, including Odesa, and grain infrastructure since July when Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that enabled Ukraine’s exports to reach many countries facing the threat of hunger.
The air force said in a statement that Russia launched four different missiles targeting the southern Odesa and Kherson regions. The drones and missiles were launched from the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
It was not clear whether the buildings and the trucks were hit by drones or falling debris.
There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Andriy Yermak, head of the president’s office, suggested the attack was a response to Ukrainian strikes on Crimea.
“This is their despicable answer to the reality – the Ukrainian Crimea will be demilitarised, without the Black Sea fleet and military bases of the Russians,” he said.
The strike also caused significant damage to the Odesa Fine Arts Museum, located in one of the oldest, tsarist-era palaces at the heart of the city.
“On 6 November, the Odesa National Art Museum turns 124 years old,” said Mr Kiper.
“On the eve of 6 November, the Russians ‘congratulated’ our architectural monument with a missile that hit nearby.”
The Odesa city council published a video showing smashed windows and debris inside what it said was the art museum.
On the street near the museum, the attack left a hole several metres deep.
The museum hosted some 10,000 pieces of art before the war, including paintings by some of the best-known Russian and Ukrainian artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
French company signs €36m Ukraine weapons contract
French company Cybergun has said that it has signed a contract worth €36 million to supply Ukraine with various weapons, including hand grenades and assault rifles.
Ukraine has been pressing its allies to maintain support for the country in its war with Russia as Kyiv’s troops face battle fatigue and the United States juggles priorities between its support for Israel against Hamas and the provision of military aid for Kyiv.
Shares in Cybergun surged 76% in early trading on the back of the Ukraine contract, giving the company a market capitalisation of about €4 million.
