French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv by train from Poland this morning. “I came to send a message of united European support to Ukrainians … The coming weeks will be difficult,” the French president told reporters at the train station in Kyiv. None of the three have been in Ukraine since the war started, and there has been great excitement about when they would take the trip. There are high expectations for what the three European leaders will bring during their visit to Ukraine. Photo: Ludovic Marin / AP Ukrainians have criticized Germany, France and to some extent Italy for procrastinating with their help to the war-torn country. They have been accused of putting their own wealth ahead of solidarity with the Ukrainians. “We want to show solidarity, but also make sure that the financial, humanitarian and weapons assistance we have organized will continue,” Scholz told the German newspaper Bild’s correspondent. The visit will take place one week before an EU summit and before a G7 summit to which Zelenskiy is invited. Also on the tour is Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Russian gas When several other diplomats and heads of state visited Kyiv in April, the three heads of state chose to stay away. Chancellor Scholz would not come as long as the Ukrainians criticized President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for being too pro-Russia. This led to a diplomatic crisis between the countries. Scholz commented on it all in May, saying: – I will not be one of those heads of state who does everything for a good image. “I will not be one of those heads of state who does everything for a good image,” was the Chancellor’s reason for not visiting Kyiv in April. Photo: JOHN MACDOUGALL Germany is dependent on Russian gas. Half of all the gas used in the country comes from Russia. This has made it difficult to break all trade ties with the country. As recently as May 21, German authorities announced that the purchase of Russian gas was not a violation of EU sanctions against Russia. Yesterday, Gazprom announced that they will now cut gas supplies to Germany. Weapon delivery Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, is one of several Ukrainians who have come out with direct criticism of Germany’s handling of the war in Ukraine. He recently posted a picture of five tanks on Twitter along with the following text: “Why do you deny the Ukrainian army access to Marder tanks from Reinmetall, while Ukrainian forces bleed to death before our eyes”. President Zelensky wants to get weapons from Germany. – We need assurances from Chancellor Scholz that Germany supports Ukraine. He and his government must make a decision, the Ukrainian head of state said in an interview with state broadcaster ZDF. “We need assurances from Chancellor Scholz that Germany will support Ukraine. He and his government must make a decision, “said Zelensky Photo: STR / AFP The French have supplied weapons to Ukraine while having a dialogue with the Russians. Mediation between Russia and Ukraine has not only been easy. Emmanuel Macron has been criticized by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba when the former stated that “the Russians must not be humiliated”. Kuleba replied that the allies should rather focus on how to put Russia in place, and that the country humiliates itself. Future EU membership President Zelenskyj has submitted an application for EU membership, a membership which, according to Macron, can be years if not decades in the future. Nevertheless, a visit by three powerful heads of state sends a signal. – We are in a place where we (Europeans) must send clear political signals. We Europeans against Ukraine and its people who are fighting a heroic resistance struggle, Macron said yesterday. He did not comment on what kind of political signals they want to send. Ukraine hopes that the EU will give the country candidate status at the union’s summit on 23 and 24 June. It kicks off just before the G7 summit, which will be held from 26 to 28 June. Frog and liver sausage eaters Former Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev thinks nothing of the European state visit to Kyiv. – European fans of frogs, liver sausages and spaghetti love to visit Kyiv. To no avail. Promises of EU membership and old howitzers to Ukraine, full on horilka and home by train as 100 years ago. All is well. But that does not bring Ukraine closer to peace, Medvedev writes on Twitter. Haubitser is a type of artillery weapon, and horilka is Ukrainian liquor.
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Mighty EU troika in Kyiv – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
