Borrell and Von der Leyen highlight the advances in Ukraine’s accession process to the community bloc during their trip to the country
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, traveled to kyiv on Friday to meet the Ukrainian president and assure him that the EU is with Ukraine. It is the message that European leaders have been repeating since the Russian invasion began and this trip wants to be proof that it is not an empty speech. To his presence in the Ukrainian capital, a promise is added: to increase the funds for the shipment of weapons by another 500 million euros, thus raising the support fund for kyiv to 1,500 million.
With the Ukrainian Army recovering ground and the Russian offensive focused on the east, Europe believes that the time has come for its diplomatic representation to return to the country. “Our head of delegation is going back to kyiv, so we will be able to work even more directly and more closely,” Borrell said. The diplomat also praised the work of the Ukrainian Government, assuring that it is “impressive” that it continues to function at full capacity, despite the “difficult” circumstances of the war.
The advances on the possible entry of Ukraine into the EU were received with optimism in kyiv. Despite the fact that the process of accession to the community block usually takes years, Von der Leyen assured, in statements collected by the Reuters agency, that the European Commission hopes to have its conclusions prepared on Ukraine’s request for entry into the EU in order to present them to the European Council this summer.
Stop in Bucha
Borrell and Von der Leyen’s is the EU’s most important political trip to the country since the Russian invasion began on February 24. Previously, the prime ministers of Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic had come to kyiv and, among the community leaders, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, led the way in March, with a trip full of symbolism.
Before their meeting with Zelensky, the European leaders traveled together with the Prime Minister of Slovakia to Bucha. The town, located northwest of the capital, has become a symbol after learning of the massacre carried out there by the Russian Army. Von der Leyen and Borrell walked to the mass graves dug to bury the many civilians killed in the city.
“It was important to start the visit in Bucha because humanity was destroyed there,” wrote the president of the European Commission on her social networks. “My message to the Ukrainians. Those responsible will be brought to justice. Your fight is also ours. Europe is with you », she added.
Shortly after arriving in the town, the delegation learned of the attack on the Kramatorsk train station, in which dozens of civilians were killed. European leaders expressed their ‘strongest condemnation’ of the ‘indiscriminate attack on civilians’. “It is another attempt to close escape routes for those fleeing this unjustified war and cause more suffering,” Borrell said.
The images of the attacks on civilians in Bucha were precisely what motivated the preparation of a fifth package of sanctions on Moscow this week, which includes the Russian coal ban. And on Thursday, at NATO headquarters, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, once again alluded to the horror experienced in that municipality to put pressure on the allied countries: “If they want to prevent more Buchas, they have to send weapons to Ukraine,” he said.
Heavy weapons and offensive support for kyiv has begun to show the seams of the Atlantic Alliance. Some countries such as Hungary have not yet sent any kind of military support to Ukraine, assuring that “this is not our war”. Others, like Spain, are committed to helping the Ukrainian Army, but without sending heavy material such as planes and tanks to the country.
In his message to Zelensky, Von der Leyen assured that “we Europeans cannot match the sacrifice of the Ukrainians, but we are mobilizing economic power to make Putin pay a high price.” The sanctions against Moscow have cut Russian exports by 71% and inflation is close to 20%, according to the president of the European Commission. European leaders, together with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will preside over a fundraising campaign to support the refugees and promote the reconstruction of Ukraine when the war ends.
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