Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s relations with western allies are deteriorating amid disagreements over the timeline for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and uncertainty over the US position on further support for Kyiv, the Financial Times reports, citing seven sources after the April 23–24 EU leaders’ summit in Cyprus.
According to the newspaper, Ukrainian officials used meetings with European and American partners to criticise the European Commission over the pace of enlargement and to demand the country’s accelerated admission to the bloc. As the sources note, Kyiv’s representatives insisted that Brussels is no less interested in Ukraine’s membership than Ukraine itself.
In response, European interlocutors made clear that Kyiv’s expectations are inflated. “Membership is not a gift. Perhaps there is some misunderstanding about that in Kyiv,” one of them said. Another noted: “We have a real problem here: Zelenskyy and his entourage never truly understood how the [enlargement] process works.” A further source added: “They say, ‘You owe us.’ And that does not help.”
Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in 2022, four months after Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Zelenskyy is pushing for accession as early as 2027. The European Commission, however, is proposing a phased model—formal membership followed by access to benefits as reforms are implemented. According to the FT, France and Germany support a gradual process that could take at least nine years. Zelenskyy, for his part, has stressed that Ukraine needs not symbolic but full membership.
At the summit in Cyprus, several EU leaders tried to reset the Ukrainian president’s expectations. “He had to hear some hard truths. It will not be as easy as he thinks,” one source said. According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, Ukraine is moving slowly on the key reforms required for accession, especially in the areas of the rule of law and anti-corruption. “Their internal reforms have stalled. It is bad, and everyone knows it,” one of them stressed.
EU diplomats acknowledge the pressure Zelenskyy is under after four years of war, but insist that the enlargement process must remain based on meeting the criteria.
The sources also note that, against the backdrop of the suspension of direct US military and financial support and the lack of progress in peace talks, the European Union remains Ukraine’s key partner. “We are the only friends he has, so perhaps he would do better to keep his mouth shut,” one European official said.