The visit of French, German and Italian leaders was long awaited by Kyiv. It comes on the eve of a long-awaited recommendation from the European Commission on whether to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
“We are now closer to the status of this official EU candidate than we could have only dreamed of a few years ago. Ukraine has made every effort to be a candidate”, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
>> 12:45 Report:
![French President, German Chancellor and Prime Minister of Italy arrived in Kyiv today by train [RTS]](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%200%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The travel times of Macron, Scholz and Draghi are no coincidence. It is easier for them to come to Ukraine before the commission’s decision. In the coming days, there will be a lot of talk about the division among Europeans over the relationship between the EU and Ukraine. It is possible that conditions will be required for the position of the candidate of Kyiv. All this risk being badly perceived in Ukraine.
make an impression
So the purpose of this trip is to leave an impression. This is particularly noticeable with images published on Thursday that show the leaders of the three main economic powers of the European Union united on the ground with Volodymyr Zelensky.
>> Explanation at 12:45 from the RTS correspondent in Brussels:
The supply of arms to Ukraine by the West is also on the discussion menu. The subject is a delicate one for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is eager to spare Russia, whose Germany is heavily dependent on gas. To date, none of the heavy weapons delivered by Germany to Ukraine have been delivered.
>> 12:30 PM Details:
