Hungary denies Orban mentioned possible EU withdrawal
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Ukraine that the European Union stood by its side and would continue to support kyiv by making Russian President Vladimir Putin pay a “heavy price” for his war.
On April 8, Von der Leyen became the first European leader to visit Bucha, where earlier this week evidence of possible war crimes was found following a retreat of Russian troops who controlled the outskirts of kyiv for several weeks after Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion. February 24.
After touring the area, where dozens of bodies were found strewn in the streets, some with their hands tied behind their backs, along with mass graves and the destruction of much of the city’s infrastructure, von der Leyen lit candles in a church for the victims.
“It was important to start my visit to Bucha. Because in Bucha our humanity was shattered,” she said in a tweet. “My message to the people of Ukraine: those responsible for the atrocities will be brought to justice. Your fight is our fight.”
Afterwards, she held a briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during which she pledged to speed up Kyiv’s application for EU membership, handing him a questionnaire to start the process.
“It will not, as usual, be a matter of years to form this opinion. [on membership]but I think it’s a matter of weeks,” she said, pledging to maintain economic and diplomatic pressure on Moscow.
“Russia will sink into economic, financial and technological decadence, while Ukraine is marching towards the European future. That’s what I see,” von der Leyen said.
Russia has denied committing atrocities in Bucha.
Live briefing: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
RFE/RL Live briefing gives you all the major developments on the invasion of Russia, how kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians and the Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL’s coverage of the war, click here.
Von der Leyen, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger arrived in kyiv on April 8 for talks with Zelenskiy. The three European leaders left by train from the small town of Przemysl in southern Poland, just 13 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The airspace over Ukraine is closed because of the war.
In mid-March, the Prime Ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic traveled to Kyiv by train. Last week, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, visited the city.
The West has tightened sanctions against Russia following international condemnation of the apparent executions of civilians on the streets of Bucha, a northern suburb of kyiv.
According to local officials, more than 300 people were killed by Russian forces in Bucha and around 50 of them were executed. Moscow denies the accusations.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said a war crimes tribunal against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov should be set up amid mounting evidence of alleged atrocities.
Speaking in an interview with the German magazine The Spiegel released on April 8, Steinmeier said “anyone responsible for these crimes will have to explain themselves.”
“That includes soldiers. That includes military commanders. And of course also those with political responsibility,” he added.
Zelenskiy said late April 7 that the situation in Borodyanka – another town northwest of kyiv recaptured from Russian forces – is “significantly more appalling” than in Bucha.
Video from Borodyanka showed search and rescue teams using heavy equipment to dig through the rubble of a collapsed building. Hundreds of people feared being buried.
On the battlefield, according to Ukraine, after withdrawing from the outskirts of kyiv, Russia is regrouping to try to take full control of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which are partly held by separatists backed by the Kremlin since 2014.
The beleaguered southern port of Mariupol, where the mayor said more than 100,000 people were still trapped, was also a target.
The British Ministry of Defense said on April 8 that Russian shelling of eastern and southern towns continues and that Russian forces have advanced further south to the town of Izyum, which remains under their control.
Ukraine has said it aims to establish up to 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate trapped civilians on April 8, but civilians trying to flee besieged Mariupol will have to use private vehicles.
The 10 planned security corridors announced by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk were all in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told BBC radio that NATO countries stand ready to supply arms to Ukraine for the fight against Russia for years to come, if necessary.
He said he could not comment on weapon systems supplied by NATO countries, but said the impact of weapons that had already been delivered to Ukraine was clear.
“The Allies are ready to provide even more, more modern and heavier weapons,” he said.