The leaders of 27 EU member states have also accepted the bid of Moldova

The European Council agreed to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova during a EU summit on Thursday. The news was broken by Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

"European Council has granted the status of candidate country to Ukraine and Moldova. Historic moment and a signal of hope for the Ukranian (sic) people," Bettel tweeted.

Earlier in the day, the European Parliament overwhelmingly backed a proposal to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Last week, Kiev's bid was supported by the EU Commission.

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