Ukraine's top European official said the war-torn country was on an irreversible path to integration with the West after the European Union agreed to formally start membership talks this week.
The decision to start accession negotiations this week marks a momentous day for the country, said Olga Stefanishina, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
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“This is the ultimate will of the Ukrainian people. And this is irreversible. And you have seen the Ukrainian people standing up for their choice,” Stefanishina said in a speech in Kyiv on Sunday.
This was his first interview since being appointed chief EU accession negotiator.
EU leaders agreed on Friday to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova on July 1, overcoming vocal opposition led by Hungary, which holds the EU presidency.
Ms. Stefanishina will lead an opening ceremony for the accession talks in Luxembourg on Tuesday along with several senior government officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to speak at the ceremony, but Ms. Stefanishina did not say whether he would attend in person or virtually.
Zelenskiy described Friday's decision as a historic step, adding in an online post that “generations of our people are realizing the European dream. Ukraine is returning to Europe.”
A poll conducted by the European Parliament earlier this year showed that EU citizens broadly support Ukraine's membership application, but are less in favor of speeding up the accession process.
Stefanishina said Ukraine was not seeking special treatment.
She said Ukraine was moving swiftly, without skipping any element of the process and without seeking any discounts.
Russia has used economic pressure and ultimately military force to try to subvert the desire of its former Soviet neighbors to join a Western alliance that it sees as hostile.
A decade ago, deadly protests demanding the government's pledge to forge closer ties with the EU put the country on a collision course with Russia.
“This is a big day for everyone,” said Stefanishina, who often grew emotional when describing the integration process. It's been nearly two years since Ukraine applied for membership, and the process is just beginning, even as the war continues.
Stefanishina, a 38-year-old lawyer who has worked in the civil service and government since her early 20s, will lead a 35-person Ukrainian delegation in negotiations with the EU.
Ukraine amended its constitution in 2019 to include those aspirations and formally applied for EU membership on February 28, 2022, five days after Russia launched a full-scale invasion.
Ukraine borders EU member states Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, and if it joined it would overtake France as the EU's largest member state, shifting the centre of gravity further east.
Along with Moldova, other candidate countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey have all been aspiring to join for decades.
Ukraine hopes to join by 2030.
Ukraine has been lauded for the progress it has made since applying for membership, but it still needs to implement dozens of required institutional and legal reforms, a lengthy list that tops the list with measures to combat corruption, as well as broader reforms to administrative, judicial and market rules.
More than 1,000 people in Ukraine are already involved in the accession process, which is scheduled to continue without a summer break.
The next six months will be crucial for our lead negotiators, she said, adding that Ukraine needs to develop a clear reform roadmap.
“The accession process and Ukraine's accession are the number one priority of our president. Ukraine is a bit obsessed and attached to the EU accession process,” she said.
