He made the statement in a video address to the nation on Tuesday.
November 21 is Ukraine's Day of Dignity and Freedom, which commemorates the revolutions of 2004 and 2014, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.
Ukraine's president said that 20 years ago Kyiv's aspirations to join the EU were "a dream," and today "it is a reality."
He added: "Therefore, our candidate status and further accession negotiations should certainly result in Ukraine's full membership in the EU."
Zelensky stated: "And we are doing all this despite the war. When our people are defending themselves and Europe right now."
He told Ukrainians that "we have to be strong" in defending the country against the Russian invasion, as "only the strong create the future."
EU's Michel, Moldova's Sandu visit Kyiv
European Council President Charles Michel arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in a gesture of support for Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported.
His visit came ahead of an EU summit in December, when Ukraine hopes the bloc's leaders will agree to launch the process of formal negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the EU.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu also visited Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Zelensky. Her country is also hoping to secure the start of formal EU accession talks next month, Reuters reported.
Earlier this month, the EU's executive Commission recommended that the bloc open accession negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova.
EU leaders are expected to decide whether to approve the recommendation at a summit in December.
Ukraine's 2014 revolution, which Russia casts as a foreign-sponsored coup, prompted Moscow's troops to seize and annex the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and back a militant insurrection in the eastern Donbas region.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 636 of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, president.gov.ua
