Kyiv, April 8 – The head of the European Commission and the EU’s top diplomat arrived in Kyiv on Friday to offer support and reassurances to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for his bid for EU membership in a capital which gradually recovered after Russia’s withdrawal.
Traveling by train from Brussels to Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters the main message she was bringing to Zelenskyy was that there would be “the EU way” for Ukraine .
“It usually takes years for the EU Council to accept the application for membership, but Ukraine did it in a week or two and I ask that you move forward as soon as possible,” she said. “Our aim is to present Ukraine’s application to the Council this summer.”
Six weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, she pledged her support for Kyiv to “emerge from the war a democratic country,” something she said the European Union and other donors would help with.
It was a message echoed by Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, who also told reporters the visit was a signal that “Ukraine is in control of its territory” and that the government was still in charge. Continue reading
“Ukraine is not an attacked, dominated country. There is still a government that takes in people from outside and you can travel to Kyiv,” Borrell said, adding he hoped the EU would offer Kyiv another 500 million euros ($543.25 million) in the coming days.
He also said the trip would allow the bloc to outline the measures the EU has taken to “isolate” Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a war Moscow has dubbed a “special operation” to “denazify” its called neighbors.
Zelenskyy dismisses Moscow’s claim, saying the war that has been raging in parts of his country for the past six weeks is a direct attack not only on Ukraine’s very existence but also on the security of Europe as a whole.
As EU leaders were about to arrive, a Russian missile attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine killed more than 30 people and wounded over 100 as civilians tried to evacuate to safer areas, the state railway company said. Continue reading
Moscow’s incursion has resulted in more than 4 million people fleeing abroad, thousands killed or wounded and cities reduced to rubble, although Russian forces have not taken any major cities.
Zelenskyy has urged Brussels to do more to punish Russia, including banning the purchase of oil and gas from the country, and urged the EU to admit Ukraine as a full member.
Borrell said oil sanctions are “a big elephant in the room,” with some concerns a move to shut down Russian crude could cause a price spike painful for European economies. He said a decision on exports would be lifted in Brussels on Monday.
Borrell and von der Leyen are the latest Western leaders to visit Kyiv after the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic traveled to meet Zelenskyy last month.
Writing from Elizabeth Piper Edited by Mark Heinrich