BRUSSELS: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel “this week” to Kyiv, accompanied by EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell, her spokesman said on Tuesday.
The pair, two of the European Union’s most senior figures, “will travel to Kyiv this week to meet with President (Volodymyr) Zelensky ahead of the Stand Up For Ukraine event in Warsaw on Saturday,” commission spokesman Eric Mamer said in a tweet.
Zelensky told reporters in Ukraine that “I expect her visit in the coming days, we don’t yet know the timing”.
He said he and von der Leyen had agreed on Sunday that a joint Ukraine-EU investigation body would probe possible war crimes that Kyiv blames on Moscow’s troops.
Von der Leyen on Monday said the EU was “ready to reinforce this effort” by sending investigation teams to Ukraine.
The European Union is discussing a fifth round of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, with member states expected to sign off on it this week or next.
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The EU chief’s trip to Ukraine was revealed ahead of its official announcement by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa on Monday.
Her visit is to come after one made last Friday by the speaker of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola – the first trip to Ukraine by the head of an EU institution since the war began.
Jansa and his Polish and Czech counterparts on March 15 visited Kyiv in the first trip by European Union leaders.
The “Stand Up For Ukraine” event in Warsaw referred to in the tweet by von der Leyen’s spokesman is the culmination of a global donation drive jointly organised by the EU and Canada to raise money for Ukraine refugees.
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