EU leaders in Kyiv, take an oath to back Ukraine

By Our Special Correspondent

The leaders of major EU powers France, Germany and Italy vowed Thursday to help Ukraine defeat Russia and to rebuild its shattered cities, in a visit to a war-torn Kyiv suburb.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian premier Mario Draghi arrived in Ukraine by train and headed to the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, scene of fierce battles early in the brutal war.

They were later joined in Kyiv by Romania's President Klaus Iohannis and met their Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been lobbying his western allies for most and faster weapons deliveries and the promise of a European future.

"All four of us support the status of immediate candidate for accession," Macron told a joint press conference with his EU colleagues.

Draghi agreed: "The most important message of our visit is that Italy wants Ukraine in the EU."

Scholz said Ukraine "belongs in the European family" and vowed: "We are supporting Ukraine with the deliveries of weapons. We will keep doing that for as long as it is needed."

Zelensky promised Ukraine was ready to put in the work to become a fully-fledged EU member, and said Ukrainians has already proved them worthy of candidate status.

The European Commission will meet Friday to give its official opinion on Ukraine's formal bid for EU candidacy, which must be approved by all 27 member states.