It is an envelope in the colors of the Ukrainian and European flags. On Friday, April 8, at the end of her visit to Kiev, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a questionnaire that will serve as the basis for a decision on Ukraine’s accession. to the European Union. “It won’t be a matter of years as usual to form an opinion, but I think a matter of weeks,” she said during a press conference on site.
In response, Mr. Zelensky assured the laughter of the assistance that the file will be returned within a week. That evening, during his daily address to the Ukrainians, the president stated that he was convinced that ” we are finally on the cusp of achieving our long standing goal. Ukraine will be one of the equals in the common European house. Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union”.
Visit to Boutcha
Ursula von der Leyen’s day in the country at war began with a visit to Boutcha, a city of 37,000 in the Kiev region, which was occupied by Russian forces from February 27 to March 31. The images of corpses of civilians found on the street, some with their hands tied behind their backs, sparked international outrage and prompted Westerners to step up pressure on Moscow. The visit took place in the presence of Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, and Denys Chmyhal, Ukraine’s Prime Minister.
Faced with the bodies exhumed in a mass grave, the Commission president, wearing a bulletproof vest, said: “The unthinkable has happened here. We have seen the brutal face of the army by (Vladimir) Putin. † Josep Borrell said the European Union would allocate a budget of €7.5 million to support the collection of data on missing persons. “Russian war crimes in Bucha and elsewhere must be investigated and prosecuted. Our civilian mission to Ukraine will support the Attorney General of Ukraine in providing training and equipment to support investigations and gather evidence.” he wrote on Twitter.
We witness harrowing images in #Bucha today with Prime Minister @Denys_Shmyhal Destruction, atrocities comm… https://t.co/Wg8TTjNlLO
In the morning, as the delegation headed for the battered city, another drama hit eastern Ukraine. At least 50 people, including five children, were killed in a bombing raid blamed on Russian troops at Kramatorsk station. Ursula von der Leyen said to herself: “deeply shocked” speak “cynical behavior” of those who wrote “for our children” white paint on one of the missiles found not far from the crime scene.
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