Traveling by train from Brussels to Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that the most important message to Zelensky was that “there will be an EU road” for Ukraine. “It usually takes years for the EU Council to accept the application for membership, but Ukraine has done so in a week or two and I urge us to move forward as soon as possible,” he said. “Our goal is to submit a Ukrainian application to the city council this summer.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Six weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has pledged its support for Kyiv’s “exit from the war as a democracy”, which he said would help the European Union and other donors. It was a message echoed by Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, who also told reporters that the visit was a message that “Ukraine is in control of its territory” and that the government is still responsible. read more “Ukraine is not a country of invasion, of domination. There is still a government (that) accepts people from abroad and you can travel to Kyiv,” Borrell said, adding that he hoped the EU would offer another 500 million euros (543.25). million dollars) in Kyiv In the coming days. He also said the trip would allow the bloc to describe measures the EU has taken to “isolate Russia” over its invasion of Ukraine, a war that Moscow describes as a “special operation” to “de-liberate” it. her neighbor. Zelensky rejects Moscow’s claim, saying that the war raging in parts of his country over the past six weeks is a direct attack not only on the existence of Ukraine, but also on the security of Europe as a whole. As EU leaders prepared to arrive, more than 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a Russian rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine as civilians tried to evacuate to safer areas, the state-owned railway company said. read more The invasion of Moscow led to more than 4 million people fleeing abroad, killing or injuring thousands and turning cities into ruins, although Russian forces failed to capture any major cities. Zelensky urged Brussels to do more to punish Russia, including banning oil and gas purchases from the country, and called on the EU to accept Ukraine as a full member. Borrell said sanctions on oil were “a big elephant in the room”, with some concerns that a move to cut Russian crude could cause price hikes painful for European economies. He said the decision on exports would be taken on Monday in Brussels. Borrell and von der Layen are the last Western leaders to visit Kyiv after the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic traveled to meet with Zelenski last month. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Written by Elizabeth Piper Montage by Mark Heinrich Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
