Slovenia, Ukraine sign declaration supporting Ukraine’s move toward EU, NATO membership

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and  President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a joint declaration on March 31 supporting Ukraine’s move toward EU and NATO membership.

Slovenia is the ninth country to sign the declaration of support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, after the Czech Republic, Belgium, Montenegro, Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Latvia and Iceland.

Zelensky discussed defense assistance with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob earlier in the day, during which the president thanked Slovenia for its military help and discussed the reconstruction of Zhytomyr and Kharkiv oblasts, heavily damaged by Russian attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the prime ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia on March 31 following a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, a town now synonymous with Russian war crimes against civilians.

Earlier in the day, the leaders, along with Moldovan President Maia Sandu brought candles to a church in Bucha to honor the memory of Russia’s war victims.

Bucha, a small city near Kyiv, was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. After it was liberated, mass graves were discovered, and thousands of war crimes were documented.

According to estimates, Russian troops killed over 1,400 people, including 37 children, in Bucha over 33 days of occupation and committed over 9,000 war crimes.

NATO, EU, Ukraine to hold first trilateral meeting

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Union chief diplomat Josep Borrell and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will meet in Brussels on Feb. 21. “This will be the first meeting between Ukraine, the EU, and NATO in this trilateral format,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk