The bowed head, the gloomy gaze, a bulletproof vest and a bevy of soldiers to protect her. The president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visiting Bucha together with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, was unable to hide her pain and dismay.
Von der Leyen: "Our humanity is destroyed in Bucha"
“The unthinkable happened here. We have seen the cruel face of Putin's army, the recklessness and coldness with which they occupied this city. In Bucha our humanity is destroyed, the whole world is with you today,” said von der Leyen in front of the mass graves of the victims.
After her visit to what has sadly become the symbol of horror, the President of the European Commission went to Kiev where she met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Von der Leyen: "The future of Ukraine is in the EU"
In front of journalists' microphones and cameras, von der Leyen showed a folder with the European and Ukrainian flags on the cover and then handed it to Zelensky. “Ukraine is part of the European family – he said – We have heard your request very clearly and we are here to give you an initial positive response: in this envelope there is the beginning of your journey towards the EU, the questionnaire for joining the Union, which will have to be filled in, then the recommendation to the Council will have to be made. If we work together, it could even be a matter of weeks".
The Ukrainian president's reply was peremptory: "Then a week will be enough for us".
Responding to journalists' questions about future relations between Russia and the EU in the event that Ukraine joins the Union, von der Leyen said: "I am deeply convinced that Ukraine will win this war, who will win freedom and democracy. We will work together with Ukraine to rebuild it, with investments and reforms. All this will shape Ukraine's path towards the European Union”.
Finally, the president recalled the five sanctions packages already approved by Brussels, anticipating that “we are already preparing the next one. Exports to Russia have dropped by 71%, inflation is around 20% and growing. Financial confidence in the country is at its lowest level since 1995 and the best minds are leaving along with more than 700 private companies. The EU countries have already frozen 225 billion of assets since the beginning of the war. Russia will decline economically, financially and technologically, while Ukraine is marching towards a European future”.
Zelensky: “Kramatorsk war crime”
“Like the Bucha massacre, like so many other Russian war crimes, the attack on Kramatorsk it must be included among the charges that will be brought to court, which it will have to be.” This was stated by Zelensky in a video published after yesterday's massacre at the Kramatorsk station, in which over 50 civilians died.
"All the efforts in the world must be aimed at rebuilding every minute - he underlines - Who did what, who gave the orders, where did the rockets come from, who brought them, who gave the order and how the attack was staged. Liability is inevitable,” she concluded.
