French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and President of Romania Klaus Iohannis have visited Irpin, Kyiv region, reports BFM TV.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the three leaders wanted “to show their support for Ukraine and the citizens of Ukraine.”
“But we don’t just want to demonstrate solidarity, we also want to assure that the help we organize — financial and humanitarian, but also when it comes to weapons — will be continued,” he said. Support will continue for as long as is necessary, he said.
The trio took an overnight train to Kyiv from Poland.
The European leaders are accompanied by the Minister of Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov.
President of France Emmanuel Macron has commended the heroism of Ukrainians in the face of Russian barbarism during a visit to Irpin, Kyiv region.
“We all have seen the pictures of a devastated town, which is also a hero town, because it was here, in particular, that the Ukrainians stopped the Russian army, which was advancing on Kyiv. So you have to imagine the heroism of the army, but also of the Ukrainian population,” Macron stressed, French TV channel BFMTV reports.
The trip comes as the European Commission considers whether to recommend Ukraine be granted candidate status for EU membership.
While in Kyiv, Macron, Scholz and Draghi are meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During President Macron’s visit to Irpin, Ambassador of France to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins told BF MTV: “This visit is very important for Ukrainians to make the president aware of the damages and the incredible resistance of the Ukrainian people.”
The Kyiv suburb of Irpin has become a symbol of the “cruelty” of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its violence, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said while visiting the damaged town.
“Irpin, like Bucha, has become a symbol of the unimaginable cruelty of the Russian war, of senseless violence,” Scholz wrote on Twitter.
“The brutal destruction of this city is a warning: this war must end.”
The trio of European leaders have already met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv near the Mariinsky Palace, an RBC-Ukraine reports.
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