Ukraine's EU bid: 'What we've achieved in a year is unthinkable by normal standards'

Remembering the shocking first few hours and days after February 24, 2022, Chentsov says: "From the rational point of view nobody expected that the Kremlin could go so far. Yes, we've been at war with Russia for the last nine years – at that point it was eight years – so we knew pretty well what Russia is capable of. But a year later I think we better understand why it happened, and the main reason is the degradation of the Russian state, of the Russian system; a lack of democratic control. And the result is one person taking a really crazy decision, and holding his own country and a neighbouring country hostage."

Chentsov urges the EU not to lose focus when it comes to applying sanctions on Russia. "It is important that we hit the Russian economy in a powerful way," he says. “It's important that new sectors and products are included. It's important that personal sanctions are imposed on propagandists, on other people involved in the occupation of Ukrainian cities and in the so-called pseudo-referenda. It's also very important that the EU works seriously on sanctions circumvention. We have to make sure not just that the 10th package of sanctions is a powerful one, but also that previous sanctions packages are still holding water, are still working, so that Russia has fewer opportunities to procure equipment through third countries."

The ambassador is upbeat about the prospects for Ukraine to join the European Union. "We want to keep the high dynamics in this process," he says. "And what we've achieved in one year is unthinkable by normal EU standards. We have received candidate status; we started quite swift implementation of the seven steps that were suggested by the European Commission and endorsed by the Council. We