Kyiv’s EU envoy says Ukraine candidate status would send clear signal to Russia

Vsevolod Chentsov. Russia’s war had changed perceptions of Ukraine for EU governments and their voters, the ambassador suggested. Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Granting Ukraine candidate status to join the EU would be a historic decision signalling to Russia it can no longer claim a sphere of influence over its eastern neighbour, Kyiv’s ambassador to Brussels has said.

Vsevolod Chentsov, the head of Ukraine’s mission to the EU, said Russia’s war had united Kyiv with the bloc, while ending what he called a “mistake” about whether his country could belong to the union.