(AFP) — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen visited Ukraine on Saturday to discuss the country’s hopes of joining the bloc, as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the world not to look away from the conflict devastating his country.
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.
Ahead of a June 23-24 EU leaders’ summit that will likely take up the matter, Zelensky questioned why some member-states were still hesitant.
“The European system could lose if words are not accompanied by deeds,” he told the 2022 Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Friday.
He later 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 said Ukraine must “not allow the world to divert its attention away from what is happening on the battlefield”.
Zelensky reported continued “very difficult battles” including in the eastern Donbas region where Moscow has concentrated its firepower, especially around the eastern industrial city of Severodonetsk.
South-west of Severodonetsk, in the village of Soledar, a Ukrainian soldier who gave his name as Sergey was bullish.
“The enemy is very defiant, trying to go through our defence with small groups,” he told AFP from a field where a Ukrainian tank was hiding near some trees.
“But they of course fail, because our infantry units at the front are doing a good job at locating their advances from observation positions. We, of course, repel them.”
He added: “The truth is on our side, it’s our land that we are defending.”
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