Ukraine calls for urgent membership of the European Union

European Union members have announced new sanctions and assured Ukraine of more military support in the coming days.

Fighting in Ukraine continues as Moscow and Kiev failed to reach a ceasefire agreement at today's negotiations at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Ukraine was calling for the immediate retreat of all Russian forces from its territory during the negotiations between Kiev and Moscow on the Belarusian border on Monday. The two countries are now planning a second round of talks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the EU to grant Ukraine membership: "We are calling on the European Union to grant us membership under urgent procedure. I am positive we deserve it."

The call was rejected by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell: "Ukraine's accession to the European Union is not the focus of today's talks. We have much more important and practical issues to discuss. We'll talk about membership at a later date. Right now we need to provide concrete answers to the existing security threat."

Source: HRT