According to a post on his Max channel, the politician wrote, “The time has come to abandon the tolerant attitude toward the accession of our neighbors to the European Union, which is now a military and economic structure. This also includes country number 404 (Ukraine).”

He noted that until now, Moscow’s rhetoric on the membership of Ukraine and other countries in the European Union has been moderate.

However, he warned that everything must now change because Brussels is considering creating its own military pillar within the bloc.

In this regard, he warned that the EU could become a genuine military alliance and extremely hostile to Russia, “something worse than the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).”

On February 11, Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded a concrete date from the EU for Ukraine’s potential accession, stating that his country would be “technically ready to join in 2027.”

However, four days later, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kakha Kallas, acknowledged that there was still no date set for Ukraine’s eventual integration into the bloc.

On March 6, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, indicated that the complex accession process makes it impossible for Ukraine to join the EU in 2027, and that the European Commission is therefore preparing a unique plan for gradual accession.

Furthermore, Ukraine formally applied for NATO membership on September 30, 2022, seven months after the start of Russia’s special military operation.

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