EU heads of state from central and eastern Europe on Monday called on other EU member states to immediately give Ukraine the status of an EU candidate and launch accession talks, according to a letter published on Monday.

The presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia say in the letter they strongly believe Ukraine deserves the prospect of immediate membership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he had signed an official request for admission to the EU.

Zelenskyy asked the EU to allow Ukraine to join immediately, under special procedure, as it is defending itself against the Russian invasion.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said earlier on Monday in a Twitter post that he fully supported the fast-track procedure to admit Ukraine.

Responding to a tweet by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who said that Ukraine had applied for EU membership under special procedure and that it was grateful to its partners for support and prompt decisions, Jansa said Ukraine enjoys “our full support” in its efforts.