Zelenskyy Warns That Russia Eyes Vast Area From Warsaw To Sofia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged the European Union to let his country start on the road to membership.

He also warned that Russia's territorial ambitions stretched from the Polish capital, Warsaw to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

Zelenskyy said this in a speech as he called for more EU sanctions against Russia.

"Russia is not interested only in our cities of Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv. Its ambitions are directed at a vast area from Warsaw to Sofia.

"As in the past, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the first step that the Russian leadership needs to open the way to other countries, to the conquest of other peoples", Zelenskyy said.

The European Union has adopted six rounds of sanctions against Russia, and Ukraine is seeking a seventh round to increase pressure on Russia to end the war.

The European Commission is expected to announce a decision on Ukraine's request for candidate status this week ahead of an EU summit next week.

"To grant Ukraine candidate status now is to prove that European unification is real and that European values ​​really work and are not just indicated in certain documents," he added