Enlarge image
Commission President von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Selenskyj and Council President Michel
Photo: OLIVIER HOSLET / EPA
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talks with European allies about further arms deliveries are progressing.
Zelenskyy said at a press conference on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels that his visit to Great Britain brought the decisions about the delivery of long-range weapons and the training of pilots closer.
"This is really a step towards supplying fighter planes," he said.
However, Selenskyj refrained from renewed offensive demands for fighter jets.
He also did not demand accelerated admission of his country to the EU.
Instead, he thanked the allies.
Selenskyj first visited London on Wednesday and met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak there, among others.
He then traveled to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
On Thursday, Zelenskyy took part in the EU summit in Brussels.
»There are certain agreements that are not public but are positive«
There he said he had received bilateral messages from several leading Europeans that they were ready to give Ukraine "the necessary weapons".
That also includes “aircraft”.
He initially did not give any further details of his talks in London, Paris and Brussels.
When asked by a Ukrainian journalist, he added, according to the simultaneous translation: "There are certain agreements that are not public, but that are positive." What exactly Zelenskyj meant by that remained open.
The President justified this by saying that he did not want to provide Russia with any information about it.
Selenskyj described his meeting with Scholz and Macron on Wednesday evening in Paris as "very strong" and "very important".
"We've been working on strengthening our offensive capabilities," he said.
“We're talking armored engineering and tanks.
I took away positives from our meeting.« Scholz is currently working on forging a coalition to support Ukraine with Leopard tanks.
Selenskyj thanks for taking in refugees
During the joint press conference at the EU summit with Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Zelenskyj thanked the citizens of the EU for taking in refugees.
Zelenskyy said he wanted to thank everyone, including those who gave shelter to Ukrainians and protected children from bombs.
According to the UN, almost five million people have temporarily applied for protection in EU countries because of the Russian war of aggression.
Zelenskyi also spoke about the common values shared by Ukraine and the EU.
Commission President von der Leyen attested to Ukraine's "impressive" progress on the road to European integration.
"There's no rigid schedule, it's a merit-based process," she said.
Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in June.
Council President Michel advocated continued maximum support for Ukraine.
"We know that the coming weeks and months will be crucial," said Michel.
kko/dpa/AFP
