Mario Draghi, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron are
in Kiev
for their first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, the Italian premier, the German chancellor and the French president will meet together with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We have come to send a message of European unity to all Ukrainian citizens. A message of support because the next few weeks will be very difficult".
Thus the French president, Emmanuel Macron, getting off the train that took him from Poland to Kiev, "in a place of war where massacres were committed", together with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The anti-aircraft alarm sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital while the visit of the three leaders is underway, currently in a hotel in the center during a break in the visit.
Sirens have been almost daily in Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The alarm ended after about thirty minutes.
VISIT TO IRPIN
Macron, Draghi and Scholz also went
to Irpin
"where murders took place", said the French president.
The Italian prime minister Mario Draghi in Irpin stopped in front of bombed buildings: "
You have the world on your side
", he told local authorities. Draghi was received by the mayor of Irpin Oleh Bondar and by the head of the Kiev regional military administration Oleksiy Kuleba. Here the Russians" destroyed the kindergartens and kindergartens.
Everything will be rebuilt.
They have already started.
They are already at a very advanced stage of evaluation ", Draghi told reporters on the sidelines of the visit to Irpin. To those who asked him if it will take a Marshall plan, Draghi replied:" We'll talk about it later. "Immediately after, he was joined by Scholz and Macron and together they toured a block of buildings blackened by bombs and flames. "All this must be seen and known.
I am grateful "for the testimony." Unfortunately there have been massacres perpetrated in Bucha and in other cities, they are war crimes ",
Macron said.
"Ukraine needs more effective defense weapons" to defend itself from the Russian invasion, he added, hailing the "heroism" of the Ukrainians.
"We need Ukraine to be able to resist and win" the war, Macron said.
ANSA agency
CNN, France wants Kiev to take back Crimea - World as well
Diplomatic source Paris: 'We are for an integral victory' (ANSA)
Chancellor Scholz has pledged to help Ukraine "for as long as necessary": he said this in an interview with the daily Bild.
During this visit to Kiev - he said - "we do not want only to show our solidarity, but also to ensure that the aid we organize: financial, humanitarian, but also as regards weapons, continues".
"We will continue as long as necessary for the struggle for Ukraine's independence."
ANSA.it
Ukraine: Draghi-Macron-Scholz in Kiev - DIRECT PHOTOGRAPHY - Foreground
The three leaders for the first time in the country since 24 February (ANSA)
The Kremlin defines Western arms supplies as "useless" while the three European leaders Draghi, Macron and Scholz are in Kiev to discuss with Ukrainian President Zelensky also the need for new weapons to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
On board the Ukrainian train that took them to Kiev, the three European leaders had a meeting lasting about two hours: they met in a carriage immediately after the convoy's departure last night, in view of the meeting with Zelensky.
The aim of the visit is to bring "a message of unity and full cohesion of the EU countries" in condemning Russia and helping Ukraine.
ANSA agency
Draghi-Macron-Scholz in Kiev, the big EU from Zelensky - World
'Putin did not divide us, united in condemning the Russian invasion' (ANSA)
It is a mission
charged with political and symbolic value
: the leaders of the three main EU countries all together, face to face with Volodymyr Zelensky.
To demonstrate European compactness, and perhaps to indicate a line that is not necessarily identical to that of the Americans.
On the eve of the mission, it was the head of the Elysée who cleared away more clearly from Washington's intransigence towards the Kremlin: "The Ukrainian president and his officials will have to negotiate with Russia - underlined by Romania -, we will do everything to stop Russian forces and help Ukrainians and their army. "
The trip to Ukraine of the three leaders falls into a very complicated phase, because on the ground the Russian army continues to gain ground by intensifying firepower on the Donbass,
ANSA agency
Kiev, 10 thousand civilians remained in Severodonetsk under the bombs - World
Gaidai, the Russian assault on the city resumed this morning (ANSA)
MOSCOW-WASHINGTON TENSION
"It is unlikely
that a leadership summit
is currently possible. And it is unlikely that it will be possible in the near future."
So Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as Ria Novosti reports.
"Although, in all honesty, it must be admitted that international affairs are a subject where sometimes a pragmatic approach prevails. And then the trends change quite quickly," he added.
