Russia reacted strongly to the decision of the Twenty-Seven to grant Ukraine and Moldova EU candidate status.
This Friday, Moscow described this act as an “internal affair of Europe”, while accusing the West of wanting to wage war on Russia.
The European decision comes four months after the start of the Russian offensive against its Ukrainian neighbor and which was intended in particular to put an end to Ukraine's continued rapprochement with the West.
"This is an internal European affair," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press, noting however that it is "important" for Moscow that "all these processes do not bring more problems for Russia”.
Read also Ukraine's candidacy for the EU: a historic step, but the start of a very long road
For his part, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, considered that the accession of Ukraine and Moldova presented "no risk" for Russia, because the EU is not a military alliance, and recalled that President Vladimir Putin did not oppose it.
A reference to Hitler
But he also used a martial vocabulary, accusing the EU and NATO of wanting to wage war on Russia, as the Nazis had done in their time.
"Hitler under his banner had brought together a large part of Europe to wage war against the Soviet Union," he said, during a trip to Azerbaijan.
“Today, the EU and NATO are bringing together such a contemporary coalition to fight and, to a large extent, wage war against Russia,” he added.
Moscow sees Western arms supplies to Ukraine as a way for Europeans and Americans to wage a proxy conflict against Russia.
Read also Ukraine's candidacy for the EU: a historic step, but the start of a very long road
The leaders of the Twenty-Seven recognized on Thursday, during a summit, Ukraine and Moldova, two pro-Western former Soviet republics, the status of candidate for the EU.
This decision marks the start of a long and complex process towards accession.
Georgia, which also wants to join the EU, will still have to make reforms to obtain this status.
A large demonstration in support of the European aspirations of this Caucasian country is scheduled for Friday evening in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.