‘AN IMPORTANT MOMENT’: MACRON, SHOLZ AND DRAGHI IN KYIV

Thu 16 June 2022:

The French president, German chancellor and Italian prime minister have arrived in Kyiv, Emmanuel Macron’s office has said.

The three leaders are on their way to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in what Macron told reporters was “an important moment”.

The French president said he would pass on the message of “European solidarity” to Zelenskyy.

Arrivés! Troisième étape du déplacement du Président @EmmanuelMacron: #Kiev #Kyiv #Ukraine️ https://t.co/HKllz4KNRo pic.twitter.com/rk5BsjrOpL

— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) June 16, 2022

In war-damaged Irpin, Macron praises Ukrainian ‘heroism’

Macron praises Ukrainian “heroism” in the face of Russia’s invasion while visiting Irpin.

“It’s here, among other places, that the Ukrainians stopped the Russian army descending onto Kyiv,” the French leader said. “It represents the heroism of the army, but also of the Ukrainian population. And alongside that, you have traces of barbarism.”

He also said that there are signs of war crimes following “massacres” by Russian forces.

Responding to a question on his pervious remarks that Russia must not be humiliated, Macron said “we stand with the Ukrainians without ambiguity. Ukraine must resist and win”.

‘A message of unity’

“It’s an important moment. It’s a message of unity we’re sending to the Ukrainians, of support, to talk both about the present and the future, since the coming weeks, as we know, will be very difficult,” Macron said as he arrived in Kyiv. Soon after his arrival, together with Draghi and Macron, air raid sirens were heard in the city.

“We’re here, we’re focused, we will join President Zelenskyy to go to a war site where massacres have been carried out,” Macron said.
BFM TV said the leaders were headed to Irpin, where Ukraine says Russia committed large-scale atrocities. Russia denies the allegations.

France wants Ukraine victory that establishes full territorial integrity: source

A French diplomatic source has told Reuters news agency that France wants a military Ukrainian victory against Russia that reestablishes the territorial integrity of the country, including Crimea that was seized by Russia in 2014.

The source added it was up to Zelenskyy to define what a military victory could be.

EU leaders visit Irpin

The European leaders are now visiting war-scarred Kyiv’s suburb of Irpin, where residential buildings and civilian infrastructure remain damaged following Russian troops’ attempts early in the invasion to capture the capital. Nearly 300 civilians were found in the district after Russian forces withdrew from the area at the end of March.

Romania’s president arrives in Kyiv

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is also now in Kiev joining the three other European leaders.

Iohannis wrote on Twitter that he was there to show his “full solidarity” with Ukraine and that the “illegal Russian aggression must stop!”

Scholz vows support for Ukraine for ‘as long as necessary’

The German leader, now in the capital, Kyiv, pledges enduring support for Ukraine, along with Draghi and Macron.

“We want to show not only solidarity, but also assure that the help that we’re organising – financial, humanitarian, but also, when it comes to weapons – will continue,” Scholz told Bild daily. “And that we will continue it as long as it is necessary for Ukraine’s fight” against Moscow, he said.

The chancellor added that EU sanctions imposed on Russia “contribute to the chance that Russia will abandon its plan and withdraw its troops – because that’s the goal”.

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