(Kyiv) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on a visit to Kyiv on Thursday pledged that the EU would support Ukraine “for as long as possible” against Russia if Ukrainian troops prevail.
Posted at 10:28 am.
Updated at 1:21 p.m.
The trip was billed as an “alternative” solution to Western alliances during a meeting between Russian and Chinese presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) regional summit.
Mr. Trump criticized Western efforts to create a “unipolar world,” praising Beijing’s “balanced” position in not condemning (and not endorsing) the Ukraine invasion. Putin condemned the occasion. Xi stressed that his country is ready to assume its “great power” role alongside Russia, while stressing the goal of “stability” in the face of “chaos”.
In Ukraine, Mr.me Von der Leyen meanwhile spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was impressed by the “courage” of Ukrainian forces.
“Your European friends will be by your side as long as it takes. We are friends forever,” he said with Mr. Zelensky.
Ukraine’s “priority” should be part of the EU’s common market, where goods, services and capital circulate freely between countries, the Ukrainian president underlined for his role, especially as his country wants to increase electricity supplies to the EU. .
Mr. This is the third visit to Ukraine.me van der Leyen but this is the first time since the country became a candidate for entry into the European Union.
In June, the Europeans approved Ukraine’s bid to join NATO. The prospect is perceived as an existential threat by Moscow, which launched its invasion under this pretext on February 24.
The West has reacted to a series of economic sanctions against Russia, while supplying Kiev with weapons that have helped it retake thousands of square kilometers of territory from Russian forces in recent weeks.
Strikes in Zelensky’s hometown
However, Ukraine is also begging for financial aid because its economy has collapsed and it currently needs five billion dollars a month to cover its budget deficit.
In view of the migration of Mme Von der Leyen traveled to Isium, a strategic town recently captured from the Russians in Kharkiv region (northeast), by Volodymyr Zelensky, from where he promised the Ukrainians “victory”.
Thanks to the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in early September, he insisted that “almost the entire Kharkiv region” was now “liberated” with the capture of “400 places”.
On Wednesday evening, Russian forces hit the hydraulic infrastructure with seven missiles, causing a flash flood of incullets, which Mr. Zelensky’s hometown was irrigated by a river called the Krivy Rig, which he condemned as a ‘flood’ attempt.
Bombs hit the town again on Thursday, at least once hitting hydraulic infrastructure, and there were no casualties, said Oleksandr Wilkol, head of the local military administration.
The center said the Russians were “targeting the Karachun Dam” in an attempt to prevent a counter-offensive by Kayin in the Kherson region.
Across Ukraine, “more than 20 areas” suffered Russian attacks on Thursday, the Ukrainian military said in its evening statement.
In Bakhmout, Donetsk region, AFP journalists saw a thick plume of smoke in an apartment building on Thursday morning after strikes hit overnight. With the streets almost deserted, firefighters scrambled to find bodies amid piles of rubble when they heard artillery fire.
A spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, warned Washington against sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, which would cross a “red line” and force Moscow to “react”.
