Kanyshai Butun
11 May 2026•Update: 11 May 2026
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Monday that Kyiv remains committed to reforms required for European Union (EU) membership and aims to sign an accession agreement in 2027.
Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in 2022, and discussions have intensified over the possibility of the country joining the bloc by 2027 under an accelerated accession process shaped by the geopolitical fallout of four years of full-scale war.
Speaking at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Sybiha said Ukraine is working to open Cluster One in accession talks on May 26 and launch additional negotiation clusters before the end of the year.
He also said Ukraine had gained “a new sense of momentum” toward its European future and updated counterparts on developments on the battlefield.
“Ukraine holds the line and the tide is turning,” he said on US social media company X, adding that long-range sanctions against Moscow were proving effective and exposing “Russia’s weaknesses.”
Sybiha urged Europe to play a stronger and more unified role in peace efforts and increase pressure on Moscow.
He also proposed deeper defense cooperation through a “Ukraine-EU Drone Deal,” saying Ukraine’s experience, technology and equipment could strengthen European security.
“Our 90% effectiveness against mass drone attacks can be expanded to protect the entire EU perimeter,” he said.
Sybiha meets Finnish, Lithuanian, Spanish top diplomats
Sybiha said his official visit to Brussels began with a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.
During the meeting Sybiha expressed Kyiv’s readiness to send an expert group to Finland to share its expertise and help protect the skies.
The two discussed the Russia-Ukraine peace process, Europe’s role in it and the battlefield situation, and “Ukraine’s EU accession,” according to Sybiha’s post on US social media X.
The Ukrainian minister also held a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Kestutis Budrys “to reaffirm the strength of the Ukrainian-Lithuanian partnership.”
The two discussed defense and security cooperation, Sybiha said, adding that Ukraine is ready “to send an expert group to Lithuania to share experience and help protect the sky.”
With Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, Sybiha discussed Ukraine’s “urgent defense needs.”
“We discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defense and military capabilities, advancing cooperation within the defense industry, joint production initiatives and further contributions to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program,” Sybiha said.
