European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell announced on Friday that they were on their way to Kyiv, a sign of support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
“Looking forward to Kyiv,” wrote Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter, accompanying her message with a photo of her with Mr. Borrell and the Slovak Prime Minister, on a station platform next to a train in the colors of Ukraine.
“I’m going to Kyiv,” said the head of European diplomacy with a photo showing him walking alongside Ms. Von der Leyen and others.
The European leader announced the trip on Thursday as a sign of “unwavering support” for Ukraine, which is facing a military invasion from Russia launched on February 24.
It comes the day after the EU adopted a new round of sanctions against Russia, with an embargo on Russian coal and the closure of European ports to Russian ships. The EU has also offered to increase funding to provide arms to Ukraine by 500 million euros, which would be increased to a total of 1.5 billion since the start of the invasion.
European leaders are due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, before attending a “Stand Up for Ukraine” event on Saturday in Warsaw, intended to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees.
Ms. von der Leyen’s trip follows the visit to kyiv by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, by a few days.
On March 15, the Polish, Slovenian and Czech Prime Ministers made the first trip by European leaders since the start of the Russian invasion, in the middle of the siege of the Ukrainian capital.
Russian troops have loosened their grip around kyiv in recent days, in view according to Moscow of a concentration of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.