EU chief visits Ukraine as fighting in east grinds on
KYIV: European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Saturday her executive will “by the end of next week” finalise its opinion on whether Ukraine should be a candidate country to join the EU.
“The discussions today will enable us to finalise our assessment by the end of next week,” she told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv during a surprise visit.
Von der Leyen’s visit - her second since Russia’s February 24 invasion - came as fierce battles continued in the east and south of Ukraine.
“With President Zelensky I will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and of the progress made by Ukraine on its European path,” she tweeted on arrival in Kyiv.
Ukraine has been pushing for rapid admission into the European Union, but officials and leaders in the bloc have cautioned that membership could take years or even decades.
Von der Leyen told reporters the discussions “will feed into our assessment” of Ukraine’s readiness to be considered a candidate country to begin lengthy negotiations, including on reforms.
Meanwhile, Zelensky urged the world not to lose sight of what was happening in Ukraine, after more than three months of war that has left thousands dead and sent millions of Ukrainians fleeing. He reported continued “very difficult battles” including in the eastern Donbas region where Moscow has concentrated its firepower, especially around the city of Severodonetsk.
In the Mykolaiv region near the front line in the south, regional governor Vitaliy Kim stressed the urgent need for international military assistance.
Further north in Kharkiv, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said Ukrainian forces were making advances but accused Russian forces of targeting attacks on civilian targets.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said Friday that Zelensky “didn’t want to hear” American warnings ahead of Russia’s invasion