Ukraine War: Von der Leyen "Looks Forward" to Kyiv - Visit to Zelenskyj Amid Putin's Attack

Created: 04/08/2022, 11:24 am

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

In the Ukraine war, the EU underlines its solidarity with Kyiv.

Now Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to express this on the spot.

Munich/Kyiv - In the escalating Ukraine conflict, the troops of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin are stepping up their attacks on eastern Ukraine after the failed attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

This map shows where the Ukraine war is raging.

More and more civilians are also falling victim to Russia's war of aggression after apparently targeted attacks.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation in the Kiev suburb of Borodyanka is "much more dire" than even in Bucha.

In response to the Bucha massacre and alleged Russian war crimes, both the US and the EU launched new sanctions against Russia.

In connection with the atrocity, solidarity with Kyiv, which is emphasized at every opportunity, should now be shown directly in the Ukrainian capital.

For this purpose, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is traveling to Kyiv in person.

Ukraine War: Von der Leyen and Borrell take train to Kyiv for meetings with Zelenskyy

Together with a delegation that also includes EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger and several EU parliamentarians, the EU Commission President left Przemysl in south-eastern Poland for Kyiv.

She didn't start her journey by plane, but by train, since the airspace over Ukraine is still closed due to the war.

Von der Leyen is the first top Western politician to visit Ukraine since the war atrocities in Bucha became known.

There she wants to meet the Ukrainian head of state Selenskyj.

"I'm looking forward to Kyiv," she wrote on Twitter before her train journey and shared a photo showing her on the platform in Przemysl with Borrell and Heger.

The aim of the joint trip is to show that the EU is “more than ever” on the side of Ukraine.

Ukraine war: New sanctions against Putin's Russia - German-Polish friction in consultations

On the diplomatic front in the Ukraine war, the EU is increasing the pressure on Moscow with tougher sanctions.

Von der Leyen had on Tuesday

(5 April) proposed a fifth package of sanctions against Russia, which was decided by the 27 member states on Thursday evening (7 April) just before their departure.

Among other things, it contains an import ban on coal from Russia, but also other restrictions on trade and an extensive entry ban for Russian ships in EU ports.

However, there was apparently a disagreement between the Polish position and, among other things, the German position.

Poland prevented an earlier conclusion of the negotiations.

According to diplomats, the country initially did not want to accept that the transition period for the import ban on Russian coal should be four months at the request of countries like Germany - and not three months as originally planned by the commission.

Efforts are also underway to increase European military support for Ukraine.

Shortly before the departure, EU foreign policy chief Borrell had suggested to the member states that EU funds for armaments aid for Ukraine be increased by 500 million euros to 1.5 billion.

Ukraine is now demanding heavy weapons in particular to ward off the Russian attack.