Their visit is related to the meeting the European Union will hold on June 23, when its member countries will decide whether to accept Ukraine as an official candidate for accession.
On Thursday, Emmanuel Macron (France), Olaf Scholz (Germany), Klaus Iohannis (Romania) and Mario Draghi (Italy) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv.
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This trip "is a message to the Ukrainians of support to talk about the present and the future, because we know that the next few weeks will be very difficult," Macron said.
"But we want not only to show solidarity, but also to guarantee financial and humanitarian aid," Scholz said, adding that the provision of arms would also continue "as long as it is necessary."
The visit of the four leaders is related to the meeting the European Union (EU) will hold on June 23, when its member countries will decide whether to accept Ukraine as an official candidate for accession. Even if the decision were favorable to Zelensky's aspirations, the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU could take several years.
‼️ ���� The Russian flag is installed in Severodonetsk at the entrance to the city
— ��Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein�� (@WilhelmOrmstein) June 16, 2022
The city itself is already under the control of the Russian armed forces and the People's militia of the LPR, Ukrainian troops#Russia #Ukraine #Putin #UkraineWar #Zelensky #ukrainerussiawar #NATO pic.twitter.com/QIUTKup7eb
The French presidency insisted that it is necessary to find a balance between the Ukrainian aspirations and those of other candidate countries for entry into the EU stuck in their negotiations. "The EU must not be destabilized or fractured," it added.
The visit of these European leaders will also serve to take stock of the latest developments in the conflict and the situation of the Ukrainian army. Therefore, before meeting with the Ukrainian president, Macron, Scholz, Draghi and Iohannis traveled to the city of Irpin.
Although Russian troops are operating mainly in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, there are also combats in areas such as Sumy, Kharkov, Kherson or Zaporizhia, where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located.
Russia-Ukraine conflict: business for the arms industry #Russia #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/SsDGcoqXl0
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) March 13, 2022