President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with the President of the European Council, António Costa.
António Costa congratulated Ukraine and all Ukrainians on Europe Day. Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for all the support Europe has provided to Ukraine during the full-scale war.
“We will defend our independence and our people’s right to freely choose their path. And in doing so, we will also defend the right of all European peoples to live as they themselves wish. Russia will not succeed in breaking Europe or fracturing it – there have been many attempts, but all have failed. And none will succeed,” the President of Ukraine stressed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and António Costa discussed joint work on Ukraine’s further European integration. Preparations are underway for the opening of negotiation clusters and further decisions.
The conversation also covered recent steps in diplomacy and the arrangement, mediated by the United States, to carry out a prisoner exchange with Russia in a 1,000-for-1,000 format.