Ukraine Aims To Join EU For 'Systemic And State Weakening' Of Russia: Defense Intelligence Head

KEY POINTS

Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal was likely to speak about joining EU at a summit on Feb. 3
The Kherson Oblast Military Administration said Russians carried out a massive shelling of Kherson city
The war in Ukraine has already completed 11 months

Ukraine has expressed its interest in joining the European Union amid the ongoing war, with the head of the Defense Intelligence saying the move was necessary for the "systemic and state weakening of the Russian Federation."

Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview it was important that Ukraine actively integrates into Euro-Atlantic and European structures.

"It is interesting to see that Russian information space, primarily on the Internet, as well as amongst some of the opposition, now fosters the idea that only the 'Putin clique' should be blamed for this invasion, that has begun to spread; and that Russian society has nothing to do with it. Factually, we are also at war with a country, where more than two-thirds of the population supported Putin's actions!" European Pravda reported, citing Polish news portal Wirtualna Polska [Google Translate showed].

"Our tasks, tasks of Ukraine, are the systemic and state weakening of the Russian Federation. So, following this aim, we must actively enter the Euro-Atlantic and European structures; on political, economic, security, legal, humanitarian and educational levels," he emphasized.

When asked about the future of Ukraine's relations with Russia, Budanov said, "it will be a very difficult process."

He added that Ukraine should forget about its post-Soviet period, "like a terrible dream."

"Finally, we must have some form of control over the new post-war Russian Federation. So that what happened to Ukraine never happens again," Budanov said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Politico the upcoming Ukraine-EU summit, scheduled to take place in Kyiv on Feb. 3, was set to be dedicated to the issue.

"We have a very ambitious plan to join the European Union within the next two years. So we expect that this year, in 2023, we can already have this pre-entry stage of negotiations," he said.

The war in Ukraine has already completed 11 months, with thousands of lives lost and millions displaced. As the anniversary of the Ukraine invasion nears, tensions in the region continue to escalate.

On Sunday, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported Russians carried out a massive shelling of the city of Kherson.

"Information about the victims as of the evening of January 29. As a result of shelling of Kherson, 11 people were injured. Of them, unfortunately, three died," Kherson City Council said in a statement. "We express our condolences to the relatives and friends of those killed."