The Digester

In an interview, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants a postwar Belarus with free leadership to be able to choose EU membership and for Kyiv and Minsk to rebuild peaceful ties, while Ukraine’s EU accession advances on technical grounds but remains politically blocked by Hungary.

Zelensky said both Ukraine and Belarus should aim for EU membership if Belarus gains a free leadership after the war.
He warned that long running pro-Lukashenko propaganda has shaped Belarusian views on Europe and that joining must be Belarusians own choice.
Zelensky called for peaceful relations between Kyiv and Minsk once the Russian war ends and Belarusian sovereignty is respected.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic forces in exile, actively promotes a European future and has signed cooperation memoranda with EU institutions.
Belarus has had frozen ties with the EU since 2021 after a disputed election, a harsh crackdown, and later support for Russia’s war.
Ukraine is an EU candidate that has completed screening and is ready to open negotiating clusters, but Hungary continues to block formal accession talks, with informal technical engagement maintained by EU members.

Zelensky: Ukraine and Belarus should become EU members

Sources