President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the introduction of a visa regime with Russia is due to the fact that Russia has destroyed ties with Ukraine.

"Russia itself has done everything to destroy any ties with Ukraine. Well, we are doing everything to make our ties with Europe as strong as possible, " he said in his traditional video address Friday evening.

Recalling that today the European Commission decided to grant Ukraine the status of an EU candidate, Zelensky noted: "It is interesting, by the way, how the course of history chooses the time for important decisions."

"The government of Ukraine abolished the agreement on visa-free regime with the Russian Federation today. Now the visa regime will be effective starting from July 1. It is difficult to overestimate the symbolism of what happened today. But no one picked the moment on purpose. This is what the course of history is. Russia itself has done everything to destroy any ties with Ukraine. Well, we are doing everything to make our ties with Europe as strong as possible," he said.