The Russian Foreign Ministry explained the position on Ukraine's accession to the EU

Ukraine's accession to the EU does not meet Russia's interests, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.

Counter act: Russia will respond to the 18th package of EU sanctions

How can the Russian Federation react and how much will the European Union lose from the new restrictions

"Precisely because the EU is following the path of active militarization and actually sets the task of constantly countering us, including in terms of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, I see no reason why we should support the idea of Ukraine joining the European Union. Here we should not forget that in the European Union, the Lisbon Treaty has no less significant article than Article 5 of the Washington Treaty (on collective defense in NATO — Ed.). Therefore, Ukraine's accession to the EU does not meet our interests," he said.