Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Friday said his country will initiate talks on becoming European Union membership next week.

"On June 25, we will hold the Ukraine-EU Intergovernmental Conference, which will mark the formal start of negotiations on our accession," Shmyhal told a government meeting as quoted by Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Ukraine and the EU will launch detailed technical negotiations on dozens of different chapters of the future membership agreement, he said.

Ukraine had applied to be a member of the bloc in 2022, the same year when Russia invaded it.

The UN’s top political affairs official on Tuesday reiterated that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international law. More than 170 civilians lost their lives and a further 690 were injured in continued Russian strikes across Ukraine last month.

That’s the highest number of civilian casualties in a single month since June 2023, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs told the Security Council.

Over half of the casualties occurred in Kharkiv during a new Russian offensive, with numerous attacks in other locations killing civilians and causing widespread destruction.

“The escalation of attacks impacting Ukrainian civilians is unconscionable,” Ms. DiCarlo said.

“Since February 2022, OHCHR has recorded 11,126 civilians killed, and 21,863 civilians injured. The actual figures are likely significantly higher,” she added.