Granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for the European Union is a recognition of its achievements in the development of a democratic European society, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk believes.

"The EU candidate status is recognition of our achievements in the development of a mature democratic European society. The strength of our institutions that continue to function effectively even during a full-scale war," Stefanchuk said in a joint address to the Ukrainian people with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Friday.

According to Stefanchuk, granting Ukraine such a status is a powerful political message that will be heard by the soldiers in the trenches, and every family forced to flee the war abroad, and everyone who helps bring victory closer.

Stefanchuk is confident that this message will be "heard in the bunker" of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We cannot change geography. Russia will continue to be our neighbor. But this decision changed history. And in this case, history won over geography," the speaker emphasized.