Luxembourg    -  The European Union on Tuesday kicked off accession negotiations with Ukraine, setting the war-torn country on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block. The landmark move signals a vote of confidence in Kyiv’s future at a time when Moscow has momentum on the battlefield almost two and a half years into the Kremlin’s invasion. The EU is also set a few hours later to begin negotiations on joining the bloc with Ukraine’s neighbour Moldova, another ex-Soviet state under pressure from Russia. “Dear friends, today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said via videolink at the start of the talks.