Poland and Lithuania say Ukraine deserves EU candidate status.

Ukraine deserves European Union candidate status, and Poland and Lithuania will support it in this goal, the presidents of the two countries said in a joint declaration with the Ukrainian president on Wednesday, reported Reuters. The presidents strongly condemned the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the quasi-formation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic” and the “Donetsk People’s Republic.” “Russia has deliberately and unilaterally withdrawn from the Minsk agreements and is therefore fully responsible for the further deterioration of the security situation on the ground,” the statement said.