The US plan to end the war in Ukraine envisages Kyiv joining the EU in January 2027, a senior official said on Friday, as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict intensify.
"It's stated there, but it's a matter for negotiation and the Americans support it", the senior official with knowledge of the matter said, referring to the US plan.
The complicated EU accession process usually takes years and requires a unanimous vote from all 27 members of the bloc, and some countries, most notably Hungary, have consistently voiced opposition to Ukraine joining.
The idea of a speedy accession is included in the latest version of a US-led plan to end the war, which would also see Ukraine cede land to Russia, and has triggered a diplomatic frenzy across Europe in recent weeks.
"It's stated there but it's a matter for negotiation, and the Americans support it," the senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, referring to the US plan.
Washington has the leverage needed to convince leaders opposed to Ukraine's membership to change their stance, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists, on Thursday.
"The United States can take steps to unblock our path to the European Union," he said, adding that "the US president has various levers of influence and that this will have an effect on those who are currently blocking Ukraine."
Kyiv has long strived for EU membership and has been implementing reforms since a pro-European 2014 revolution but has struggled to eradicate endemic corruption -- a core prerequisite for joining the bloc.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he had visited troops fending off Russian advances near the embattled city of Kupiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured last month, which Kyiv denies.
Ukraine said earlier its army had retaken two settlements in the northern Kharkiv region and pushed Russian troops back in Kupiansk — a strategically important city and a key railway hub.
"Many Russians talked about Kupiansk — we can see. I was here, I congratulated the guys. Thanks to every unit, to everyone fighting here, to everyone destroying the occupier", Zelensky, wearing a bulletproof vest, said in a video posted on Telegram.
He did not disclose his exact location, but geolocated Zelensky on a road at the entrance to the southwest of the city. — AFP
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