Following “massacres” by Russian forces, French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Thursday that there are signs of war crimes in a Kyiv suburb.
He spoke when he visited the town of Irpin while on a visit to show solidarity for Ukraine alongside German, Italian, and Romanian leaders. He condemned the “barbaric” nature of the strikes that wreaked havoc on the town and hailed the bravery of citizens of Irpin and other Kyiv region communities in repelling Russian soldiers from storming the city.
The four European leaders arrived in Kyiv earlier to the sound of air raid sirens, in a high-profile show of European solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they fight Russia’s invasion.
The visit, which will include a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, carries a lot of symbolic weight, considering that the three Western European nations have been chastised for not delivering to Ukraine the weapons that Zelensky has requested.
They’ve also been chastised for not paying a visit to Kyiv sooner. Several other European leaders have made the long journey overland in recent weeks and months to demonstrate solidarity with a nation under siege, even when the conflict was closer to the capital than it is now.
Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Premier Mario Draghi, who represent Europe’s three largest economies, traveled to Kyiv together on a special overnight train supplied by Ukrainian officials, according to Macron’s office.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, whose country borders Ukraine and has been a major destination for Ukrainian migrants, arrived on a different train, tweeting, “This illegitimate Russian attack must end!”
“It’s a message of European unity for the people of Ukraine, support now and in the future, because the weeks ahead will be extremely difficult,” Macron added.
In the eastern Donbas region, Russian soldiers are pressing their attack, slowly but surely gaining ground on the outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian forces, who are asking for more armaments from Western partners.
While the European leaders were in their hotel preparing for the rest of their tour, several air raid sirens sounded, and Kyiv officials encouraged citizens to seek shelter. These kinds of notifications are common.
“I want to convey my admiration for the Ukrainian people,” Macron said as he walked out of the hotel, his palm on his heart.
Scholz told the German news agency DPA that the leaders want to express not only unity but also their commitment to continue providing financial and humanitarian aid as well as weapons to Ukraine.
Scholz went on to say that this support will last “as long as Ukraine’s fight for freedom requires.”
According to DPA, Scholz stated that the sanctions against Russia are also significant and could lead to Moscow removing its soldiers.
Scholz, Macron, and Draghi have been chastised for not just providing insufficient assistance but also for meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Many leaders and ordinary citizens in the Baltic and Central European countries that were under Moscow’s influence during the Cold War think that Putin only understands force, and have deemed Macron’s and others’ efforts to maintain contact with Putin following his invasion as inappropriate.
Ukrainians hoped that the visit would be a watershed moment, paving the path for major fresh arms shipments.
Tamara Malko, a resident of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk area, said Macron and Olaf had been “quite chilly” to Ukrainians so far and hoped for a change.
“We want peace very much, very much,” she added, adding that she has high hopes for Macron and Scholz. “We want them to see and feel our anguish.”
Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk, said the visit will be fruitless if the leaders demand that Ukraine sign a peace treaty with Russia that includes territorial concessions. He stated that Ukrainians would never tolerate such a thing.
“I am confident that our president, Volodymyr Zelensky, will not make concessions or trade our lands.” Germany has Bavaria, Italy has Tuscany, and the French can give up Provence, for example, if someone wishes to stop Russia by giving them areas,” he remarked.
“Hear me out, this is Russia. This is a group of outlaws. It will be one territory today, another tomorrow, and yet another the day after tomorrow. Also, many Ukrainian heroes perished in the service of the country as a whole. Nobody will forgive us if people die as a result of our concessions to the invader.”
The visit takes place as EU leaders prepare to decide on Ukraine’s request to become a candidate for EU membership on June 23-24, and ahead of a key NATO meeting on June 29-30 in Madrid.
NATO defense ministers will gather in Brussels on Thursday to discuss additional military aid for Ukraine. The US and Germany announced fresh aid on Wednesday, with the US and its allies providing longer-range weapons that they claim can make a difference in a struggle where Ukrainian soldiers are outmanned and outgunned by their Russian invaders.
During a visit to Ukraine’s neighbors Romania and Moldova on Tuesday, Macron said that a “message of support” must be sent to Ukraine before EU leaders “had to make crucial decisions” at their summit in Brussels.
“We, Europeans, the European Union, are at a crossroads where we need to give unambiguous political messages to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he said.
Macron is heavily involved in diplomatic efforts in Ukraine to secure a cease-fire that would allow for future peace talks. Since Putin started the invasion in late February, he has had numerous conversations with Zelensky and has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone several times.
Scholz had been putting off going to Kyiv for a long time, claiming that he didn’t want to “join the queue of folks who do a quick in-out for a photo opportunity.” Instead, a trip should focus on accomplishing “tangible things,” according to Scholz.
Germany confirmed on Wednesday that it will supply Ukraine with three multiple launch rocket systems, which Kyiv has stated it urgently requires to defend itself against a Russian invasion.
