The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced on Friday that they are on their way to kyiv.to show support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
(Read here: Ukraine: at least 35 killed in missile attack on train station)
“Anxious to be in kyiv now,” Von der Leyen wrote on her Twitter account in a message that shows her with Borrell and the Slovak Prime Minister, at a station next to a train painted in the colors of the Slovakian flag. Ukraine.
For his part, Borrell published a message that says “Let’s go to kyiv” with an image next to the delegation that travels to the Ukrainian capital.
On Thursday, the European leader announced this trip to show her “unfailing support” for Ukraine, which is facing an invasion launched by Russia on February 24.
(In other news: Ukrainian is raped by Russian soldiers: ‘I don’t want to live anymore’)
This trip comes after the European Union (EU) approved on Thursday a new battery of sanctions against Russiawhich includes an embargo against Russian coal and the closure of European ports to Russian shipping.
The EU also decided to increase funding to deliver arms to Ukraine by €500 million, bringing the total to more than €1.5 billion since the start of the invasion.
The two European officials are scheduled to meet with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenskibefore the event on Saturday in Warsaw to raise funds for refugees from the conflict.
Von der Leyen’s trip follows that of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, a few days ago.
We have seen all the coldness of Putin’s army. We have seen the recklessness and cold heart they have had in occupying this city. We have seen humanity in pieces in Bucha.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said this Friday that she had seen “humanity in pieces” in the town of Bucha, where together with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, he visited a mass grave of civilians massacred during the Russian occupation of the town.
“The whole world is in mourning for what happened in Bucha,” said Von der Leyen from the Ukrainian town where earlier this week the Russian indiscriminate killings of Ukrainian civilians were revealed, some handcuffed and with signs of torture.
Together with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Eduard Heger, Von der Leyen and Borrell visited a mass grave in the courtyard of the church of Saint Andrew the First Called, where there were some 14 bodies in plastic bags that had been exhumed.
“We have to defend the border with Europe, humanity and democracy and that is why we are here together with Ukraine,” added von der Leyen. During the visit, they were accompanied by the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, and the Mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk.
“We visited Bucha. I showed Von der Leyen, Borrell and Heger the atrocities committed by Russian military troops against Ukrainian civilians. We will never forgive the enemy for these crimes. We work with our European partners to stop the aggressor as soon as possible,” he wrote in Twitter Shmyhal.
Later, Von der Leyen, Borrell and Heger have placed candles in this church and have gone to Volknalna street, one of the most damaged during the occupation of Bucha and where there are still dozens of burned tanks.
The visit to the town of Bucha was the first stop on the European leaders’ trip to Ukraine, where they are also scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, as well as Shmyhal and other top government officials; to those who will convey a “message of solidarity” from the EU with the country after the Russian invasion.
The trip coincides with the approval last night in the EU of the fifth package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, which affects the energy sector for the first time by prohibiting the import of Russian coal, in addition to including an arms embargo against Russia and vetoing high-tech exports to that country.
“The latest sanctions come after the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha and other places under Russian occupation. The goal of our sanctions is to stop the inhumane and aggressive behavior of Russian troops and illegal aggression against Ukraine,” he shared on Twitter. Borrell.
More news
– Kub Bla, the powerful killer robot that Russia would use against Ukraine
Russian Nobel Prize winner Dmitri Muratov was attacked with acetone paint on a train
– What does it mean that Russia is out of the DD Council? H H. from the ONU?
#Humanity #pieces #European #officials #visiting #Bucha