Small victories: Ukraine gets closer to Europe (Brussels’ Mini-Europe, that is)

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It’s official: Ukraine is big in Brussels.

On Monday, four new Ukraine-themed scenes were unveiled at Mini-Europe — a tourist attraction in Brussels featuring miniature versions of European landmarks — with Ukrainian diplomat Natalia Anoshyna and new Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib there to mark the occasion.

EU candidate countries do not normally get to be featured in Mini-Europe — which is situated next to the iconic Atomium.

The first Mini-Europe scene features Ukrainian and European flags flying next to the Independence Monument on Maidan Square in Kyiv; the second shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy handing in an application for membership of the European Union to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; another shows Belgium aid convoys on their way to Ukraine; and finally, there is a scene featuring Ukrainian refugees arriving at the Polish border.

Lahbib said the new Ukrainian section of the attraction is “proof that the whole country stands by Ukraine.”