Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
08 April 2022•Update: 09 April 2022
ANKARA
Two top EU leaders and Slovakia’s prime minister on Friday arrived for a visit to war-torn Ukraine in the midst of the conflict’s seventh week.
On Twitter, Slovakian Premier Eduard Heger posted a photo alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying that they are in Ukraine "ready to discuss our proposals for helping (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelenskyy and (Prime Minister) Denys Shmyhal."
"To help getting EU perspective by creating a #ReformTeam. To offer options for transporting grains, including wheat and to increase the use of #HumanitarianHub," he added.
Also on Twitter, von der Leyen shared a photo with Borrell and Heger and said she is "looking forward to (visiting) Kyiv," the country’s capital.
The visits by Von der Leyen and Borrell are the highest-profile visits to Ukraine by Western officials since Russia launched its war on Feb. 24.
Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, also visited Kyiv last week.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is also set to visit Ukraine in the coming days to meet with the Ukrainian president, his office said in a statement.
He will discuss humanitarian and political support for Ukraine, the statement said, adding that no further details were announced for security reasons.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,611 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,227 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.
More than 4.3 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
