It was Charles Michel's idea.

The EU Council President wanted to give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a chance to address the heads of state and government of the 27 member states directly.

And so Zelenskyj was the only one who was allowed to be in the room when they met for a special session last Thursday, on the day the war broke out.

Even their cell phones had to stay outside.

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

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The President had twenty minutes while Russian tanks advanced on Kyiv.

He used it for an emotional cry for help that shook his listeners.

Whoever is asked in Brussels what was the deciding factor for the dramatic turnaround of the past few days, the tough sanctions against Moscow and the support of Kiev with weapons, the question always comes back to this one appearance.

Selenskyj, 44 years old, reported from the presidential palace, in Kyiv it was shortly before midnight.

He reported on the war, the first hours of the attack on his country.

He said that he himself was the number one target for the Russians.

That they would do anything to kill him, him and his family.

"It could be that I speak to you for the last time," he is rendered.

Zelenskyj appealed to the heads of government to personally sanction Vladimir Putin and to exclude Russia from the payment service provider SWIFT.

He asked them for weapons so that his citizens could defend themselves.

And he said in no uncertain terms that his country wanted to join the European Union.

"I expect a clear answer from everyone."

sign on the other side

He didn't get that tonight.

But he set something in motion, a tremendous dynamic.

It led to unimagined sanctions over the weekend and the decision to supply Ukraine with arms worth half a billion euros.

On Monday, the next development that had hardly been thought possible became apparent.

Zelenskyj reported in the morning with a video message.

"We are turning to the EU for the immediate admission of Ukraine under a new special procedure," he said.

"I believe that is fair.

I'm convinced that we deserve it.” That was the announcement of an application for accession which, according to Brussels, was “imminent”.

On Monday evening Zelenskyj published photos of it on his Telegram channel,

Things like that don't just happen in the real world of diplomacy.

It takes signs on the other side that you're willing to go for it.

And there were signs.

When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was asked the night before about Ukraine's future in Europe, she replied: "Over time, they really do belong to us.

They're one of us, and we want them in.” It wasn't a standard formula, it was a description of the obvious.

It was fundamentally new.

Because until then there was no such perspective for the country.

The conclusions of the European Council on Thursday merely stated that it recognized "Ukraine's European aspirations and its choice for Europe".

It is a long way from such recognition to support.