KYIV, Aug 27 - President Petro Poroshenko believes that rapprochement with the European Union and strengthening of Ukraine's economic independence will not allow the Russian Federation to blackmail it.

"A clear European strategy has given us an opportunity to compensate for the huge losses that we suffered as a result of the politically motivated closure by Russia of its market and transit to third countries for Ukrainian goods. Russia will no longer be able to blackmail us because we have strengthened our economic independence," he stressed, speaking at a military parade in the center of Kyiv on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Ukraine's independence on Friday.