Ukraine should aim to join the EU within two years – Denys Shmyhal

Ukraine has ambitions to join the European Union in the next two years, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, has said at the 17th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting "Ukraine: Defending All Our Freedom", organised by YES in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

“We looked at how other countries made this way. It took them five, seven, eight years. We have an ambition to become a member within two years,” Shmyhal said.

According to Shmyhal, Ukraine has implemented the EU association agreement requirements by 65% and will implement those by 100% by the year’s end.

Shmyhal said that Ukraine has finally defended its civilized choice and will move towards European integration.

“Ukraine has won strategically. This does not mean the victory is coming in a day or in a week, but we have won in defending our freedoms and democracy. We have won in our strategic vector of movement towards Europe. Russia has lost strategically, it remains in its archaic Soviet model of existence, including its propaganda and its empire ambitions which we will not let them implement”, Shmyhal said.