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Updated April 1st, 2022 at 07:38 IST

European Parliament President to become first EU leader to visit Kyiv since war began

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will be the first leader of an EU body to travel to Ukraine since Russia launched its ‘special’ military operation

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
European Parliament president
Image: AP | Image:self
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Amid escalating the Russia-Ukraine war with no concrete ceasefire agreement in sight, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will be the first leader of an EU body to travel to Ukraine since Russia launched its ‘special’ military operation in late February. No other details of Metsola’s visit to the war-torn nation have been revealed yet “due to security concerns”, a European Parliament official told CNN. 

In a speech earlier this week, the European parliament’s president had called it “important for the European Parliament to support Ukraine’s aspiration to be a candidate country for accession”.On Thursday, Metsola even posted a photo of herself with the caption “On my way to Kyiv”. 

While EU authorities have jointly shown support to Kyiv in the war with Moscow, it is also pertinent to note that the European parliament’s president’s visit to Ukraine comes just ahead of a ‘global pledging event’; for Ukraine. On April 9, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will jointly organise the global pledging event aimed to raise funds for internally displaced Ukrainians and refugees. In a Twitter post on March 28, EU Commission President said, “The people of Ukraine need all our support - and they need it now.”

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the special military operation in Ukraine to ‘demilitarise’ Kyiv on February 24, the European Union has united in support of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s country. From imposing sanctions on Russia to criticising actions taken by Moscow’s forces in Ukraine, EU leadership has stood firmly against the Kremlin. 

Russia bans EU leadership over sanctions

Meanwhile, Russia on Thursday even said that it would expand the list of European Union figures from entering the nation. In view of Western sanctions, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, “The restrictions apply to the top leadership of the European Union including a number of European commissioners and heads of EU military structures as well as the vast majority of members of the European Parliament promoting anti-Russian policies”. 

Additionally, others include “high-ranking officials… as well as public figures and media workers who are personally responsible for promoting illegal anti-Russian sanctions, inciting Russophobic sentiment and infringing the rights and freedoms of the Russian-speaking population,” the ministry added.

(Image: AP)
 

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Published April 1st, 2022 at 07:38 IST

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