By Martin Banks

EU chief Antonio Costa has paid tribute to all those who he says are “standing strong in defending their homeland on the front lines and across Ukraine.”

The Portuguese-born official was speaking on Monday at Sofiiska Square in Kyiv, the country’s capital, to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day.

He told the packed audience that August 24 marks the moment when Ukraine joined the “free nations of Europe.”

He said, “It is a crucial date in Ukraine’s long struggle for freedom and independence.”

He told Ukrainians that their  “courage and bravery inspire the world.”

He thanks those fighting in the frontlines, “their families, their parents, their children, all of them, they are losing and risking their lives for the freedom of Ukraine and the freedom of Europe.”

He recalled EU member states had met on the very first day of the war, on 24 February 2022 “to galvanise European support for Ukraine.”

The president assured Ukraine that “European solidarity has been strong and unwavering ever since,” adding, “We have always been with you in providing political, financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support.”

He called the conflict a “terrible war” he hopes will “never happens again.”

The former Portuguese PM assured the war torn country, “We will continue to provide as much support as necessary, for as long as necessary.”

Turning to possible EU accession for Ukraine, he suggested this as “the best guarantee of security and long-term democratic stability — for Ukraine and for Europe as a whole.”

He said, “Our goal is Ukraine’s integration into the European Union’s peace project: a union of nations that have overcome nationalism, that uphold democracy and the rule of law, and that work together for shared prosperity and development.

“We all know that accession is a demanding process.

“But these challenges should not block our political determination, rooted in geopolitical necessity and the free, democratic choice of the Ukrainian people.”