High-level meeting – Zelenskyj receives EU leaders in Kiev

After a joint photo session in front of the building, the top politicians sat down at a round table. Prior to the meeting, European guests had visited the Kiev suburb of Irpin and witnessed the devastation wrought by the Russian attacks.

“City is characterized by barbarism”
Scholz condemned the “brutality” of the Russian war of aggression and spoke of senseless violence. Innocent civilians were hit and an entire city was destroyed, where there were no military structures at all. “That says a lot about the brutality of the Russian war of aggression, which is simply aimed at destruction and conquest.” The destruction at Irpin is a “very important reminder” that something must be done. In Irpin, Macron spoke of “massacres and war crimes” having been committed there. “It is a heroic city, marked by the stigmata of barbarity.”

Draghi believes Ukraine is capable of reconstruction after the war. “This is a place of destruction, but also of hope,” the Italian prime minister said during his visit to Irpin. “A lot of what I was told here was about the future and reconstruction,” Draghi said. “The people were united by the war, they can now do things that may not have been possible before the war.” When asked whether international aid similar to the Marshall Plan was needed, he replied, “We’ll talk about that later.”

‘Hold the perpetrators accountable’
Romanian President Iohannis again demanded that Russia’s atrocities be brought before an international criminal court. “I renew my urgent call for all Russian perpetrators to be held accountable by the international criminal justice system – which Romania fully supports -,” Iohannis tweeted Thursday after the visit to Irpin. “There are no words to describe the unimaginable human tragedy and horrific destruction we witnessed in Irpin today,” Iohannis wrote. Scholz, Macron and Draghi had traveled to Kiev together by train, while Iohannis had come to the Ukrainian capital by a different route.

Meanwhile, Russia warned against further arms supplies to Ukraine. These would be “absolutely useless” and would only “further damage the country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on Thursday. He hopes that politicians “will not just focus on supporting Ukraine by continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine,” Peskov said. The three EU politicians should use their time with Zelenskyj to have a “realistic view of the situation”.