French president Emmanuel Macron denounced the “barbarism” of Russian attacks in Ukraine as he travelled to Kyiv on a landmark visit with other European leaders on Thursday.
Mr Macron was speaking from the devastated town of Irpin, the scene of alleged war crimes by Moscow’s troops during fighting earlier in the conflict.
He was visiting Ukraine alongside German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi. The French leader praised the courage of Irpin residents and others nearby who had helped thwart Russia’s attempt to overrun the capital.
Mr Scholz said Irpin had “become a symbol for the unimaginable cruelty of the Russian war, for senseless violence”.
Mr Draghi said that Ukraine’s backers will rebuild with European help. “They destroyed the nurseries, the playgrounds, and everything will be rebuilt,” he said.
The European leaders said they hoped to send a “message of unity” ahead of talks with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The trio travelled together on an overnight train provided by the Ukrainian authorities and held lengthy meetings in the dining car until after midnight.
The historic visit to Ukraine comes amid criticism of the three leaders for not doing enough to support Kyiv since Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded in late February.
Ukraine has been particularly critical of the perceived lack of Germany’s military aid and the country’s ambassador to Berlin, Andrij Melnyk, told German broadcaster NTV he expected Scholz to hand over heavy weapons that had been long-promised but not yet delivered.
Mr Macron has been criticised for urging countries not to “humiliate” Mr Putin.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Zelensky, told German newspaper Bild this week he was concerned the three leaders would put pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace deal favourable to Mr Putin.
“They will say that we need to end the war that is causing food problems and economic problems … that we need to save Mr Putin’s face,” he said.
Mr Scholz has dismissed allegations he has held back much-needed military support, saying Germany was one of the biggest military and financial backers of Ukraine, and that it was taking time to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the sophisticated artillery systems that it was offering.
On Thursday, Nato defence ministers met in Brussels to consider more military aid for Ukraine, and many in Ukraine hoped that the leaders’ visit could mark a turning point by opening the way to significant new arms supplies – particularly as the officials surveyed the war’s devastation.
In terms of Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU, the European Commission is due to make a recommendation on Friday on Ukraine‘s status as a suitable candidate, something the biggest European nations have been lukewarm about.
“A balance has to be found between Ukraine’s natural aspirations to [join] the EU at a very special time, and attention to all the countries which already have candidate status and are stuck in the negotiation chapters and the fact that we must not destabilise the EU or fracture it,” a French official said.
On the ground, Russian forces continued their offensive in the eastern Donbas region. Air raid sirens rang out while the European leaders were in Kyiv preparing for the rest of their visit.
Their visit to Ukraine was not welcomed by Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia, ranted on Twitter that “European fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti love visiting Kiev. With zero use.”
He continued his online rant by claiming the leaders’ visit would not bring peace to Ukraine.
Additional reporting by agencies
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
