The Ukrainian government, opposition and civil society are celebrating the European Council's decision to give the green light to Kiev's accession negotiations with the EU as a victory for those fighting on the front lines for Ukraine's independence and democratic future, which is the country's Western fate secures and strengthens the entire continent. “Many people in Ukraine have high morale and feel really relieved, and that is an important thing. It gives us the strength to move forward,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message recorded at dawn on the streets of the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, where he spoke from the base in Wiesbaden, Germany, the headquarters of the U.S. Army in Europe, arrived. “I would like to thank everyone who strengthens Europe through the unity of Ukraine,” the Kiev leader added. After learning that the Twenty-Seven had given the green light for Ukraine and Moldova to begin accession negotiations, Zelensky called some of the European leaders who had worked hardest to make the move possible. For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized that the European Council's “yes” showed that “nothing was in vain” and referred to Ukraine's long road to Europe.
Opposition MP Oleksi Goncharenko, the most active member of former President Petro Poroshenko's party, did so
emphasized the intervention of Chancellor Olaf Scholz,
According to press reports, it was essential for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to abandon his intention to veto Kiev's accession. “That means Germany is very committed, and that is a good sign,” he explained, “once they start, it means no one will stop them.”