European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer have both announced plans to travel to Kyiv this week for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Von der Leyen will be accompanied by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, her spokesperson said, writes news agency MIA.
The trip will come ahead of the Stand Up For Ukraine donor conference for Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced people in Warsaw on Saturday, which is being convened by von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Nehammer’s office also announced the chancellor would visit Kyiv in the next few days with the aim of providing Ukraine with the best possible humanitarian and political support.
Austria has so far provided some €17.5 million ($19.2 million) from its Foreign Disaster Fund to Ukraine, as well as 10,000 helmets and more than 9,100 protective vests for civilian use. Austria, which is not a member of NATO, would soon also be providing further humanitarian aid, the chancellery said.
The President of the EU Parliament Roberta Metsola traveled to Kyiv last week where she met Zelensky as well as other Ukrainian government representatives.
During her visit, Metsola assured Ukraine of far-reaching EU support. “We will help rebuild your cities,” she pledged.
Very few senior politicians have traveled to war-torn Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, though in mid-March, the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled by train to Kyiv as a sign of solidarity.
For security reasons, no further details of either von der Leyen’s or Nehammer’s trip were made available.
