China News Service, June 20 (Reuters) - On the evening of the 19th local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a video speech, saying that Russia will escalate its offensive against Ukraine in the next week because the European Union will meet on June 23 and 2019. At the EU summit held on the 24th, discussions were held on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In his speech, Zelensky also emphasized that the Ukrainian side is "ready".
On the 17th local time, the European Commission proposed to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for the European Union.
According to EU rules, the European Commission's recommendations need to be unanimously approved by 27 member states before they can come into effect. The relevant discussions will be held at the EU summit.
Reuters pointed out that although some member states have doubts, they are expected to pass discussions on granting Ukraine candidacy status.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously responded that he does not oppose Ukraine's accession to the European Union, but a Kremlin spokesman said that Russia is closely monitoring the matter.