(Kyiv) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday that the EU would support Ukraine “as long as it takes” against Russia, as the Ukrainian troops are achieving success.
Posted at 10:28 a.m.
The visit comes alongside a meeting between Russian and Chinese Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, who met in Uzbekistan for a regional summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), touted as an “alternative” to alliances. Western.
Mr. Putin denounced on this occasion the Western attempts to create a “unipolar world”, praising the “balanced” position of Beijing, which did not denounce the invasion of Ukraine (without approving it either). Xi stressed that his country was ready to assume its “great power” role with Russia, while insisting on the goal of “stability” in the face of “chaos”.
In Ukraine, Mr.me Von der Leyen spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, saying she was impressed by the “bravery” of Ukrainian forces on the front and confirming financial aid of 5 billion euros for Kyiv proposed by the Commission at the beginning of September.
“You will have your European friends by your side for as long as it takes. We are friends forever,” she said.
This was the third visit to Ukraine for Mr.me von der Leyen – who received a Ukrainian decoration from Mr Zelensky on Thursday – but his first since Ukraine became an EU candidate state.
She had indicated before her trip that the discussions would focus on how to “bring our economies and our people closer together as Ukraine moves towards accession” to the Union.
400 localities liberated
The Europeans had endorsed in June the candidacy of Ukraine, which also aims to join NATO. This prospect is perceived as an existential threat by Moscow, which launched under this pretext, among others, an invasion of the country on February 24.
The West has adopted a series of sanctions against Russia in response while providing weapons to Kyiv, a crucial support that has enabled it to retake thousands of square kilometers of territory from Russian forces in recent weeks.
However, Ukraine is also pleading for financial support, as its economy has collapsed and the country needs, according to estimates by Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko, five billion dollars a month to cover its budget deficit.
On the eve of the visit of Mme von der Leyen, President Volodymyr Zelensky had gone to the strategic town of Izioum recently recaptured from the Russians in the Kharkiv region (north-east), from where he promised the Ukrainians “victory”.
He stressed that “almost the entire Kharkiv region is liberated” with the capture of “400 localities”, thanks to a Ukrainian counter-offensive launched in early September.
In the evening of Wednesday, the Russian forces for their part struck with the help of seven missiles of the hydraulic infrastructures, causing a sudden flood of the Ingulets river in Kryvyï Rig, the birthplace of Mr. Zelensky, who denounced an attempt to flood it.
A new strike targeted the city on Thursday, hitting an “industrial enterprise” and causing “serious damage” without causing any casualties, said the head of the local military administration, Oleksandre Vilkoul.
Debris and deserted streets
On the eastern front, several towns and villages including Toretsk, Bakhmout, Avdiivka and Chassiv Iar have been bombarded with a toll of two civilians killed and 13 injured in the past 24 hours, according to the count of the presidency.
In Bakhmout, AFP journalists saw a thick plume of smoke on Thursday morning after the strike hit an apartment building overnight. Firefighters were trying to find bodies in the middle of a pile of debris, while the streets were almost deserted, artillery fire being heard.
In the region of Kherson (south), where the Ukrainian forces are also leading a counter-offensive, but seem to meet more resistance than in Kharkiv, the situation is “extremely difficult” with “active fighting”, according to the presidency.
The Russian army, for its part, claimed to have carried out “massive strikes” against Ukrainian forces in the regions of Mykolaiv (south) and Kharkiv (northeast).
The spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, warned Washington against sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, which would constitute the crossing of a “red line” and force Moscow to “react”.