Germany’s Olaf Scholtz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Mario Draghi and Romania’s Klaus Iohannis have visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During the visit to the country invaded by Russia, European leaders visited, among other places, the war-torn town of Irpin to see with their own eyes the devastation.
At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, they expressed their support for Ukraine’s application to the EU. All four want Ukraine to receive candidate status as soon as possible.
The four of us support an immediate candidate status for membership. The status will be accompanied by a roadmap to take into account the situation in the Balkans and in surrounding countries, especially Moldova, Macron said.
A number of EU countries have demanded that Ukraine be given a shortcut into the Union, something France has been skeptical about. Last May, the country’s European Minister said that the road to full membership will probably take up to 20 years.
Promises more weapons
The French president also announced that France would send six more Caesar artillery systems to Ukraine. This is in response to Ukraine’s repeated requests for more weapons.
– We appreciate the support we have already received from our partners. We are waiting for new deliveries of mostly heavy weapons, modern rocket artillery and air defense systems, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyj after the press conference.