The visit comes as the US warned of intelligence about a big impending air attack on Ukraine.
Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on the same train on Saturday morning, while Donald Tusk travelled on a separate train. The four leaders met in the Polish city of Rzeszow on Friday night before departing. On Saturday, they will meet Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support for Ukraine, Downing Street said in a statement issued late on Friday.
“We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion,” the four leaders said in a joint statement.
“Kyiv. There is an important day ahead of us,” Tusk posted on X after he arrived on the platform at Kyiv’s central railway station.
The four European leaders will reiterate calls for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in the conflict during their visit, something that Donald Trump and the US administration have said could be the first step on the way to a sustainable peace deal. Ukraine has said it is ready to implement but Russia has so far refused.
Instead, Moscow unilaterally declared a three-day ceasefire beginning on 8 May, which Kyiv said was designed to avoid Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia during celebrations of 80 years of the Soviet victory in the second world war, held in Moscow on Friday. Fighting has continued along the frontlines during the supposed ceasefire, both sides have said, but Russia has largely refrained from drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
However, as the leaders were already en route to Ukraine, the US embassy in Kyiv put out a public warning late on Friday night that it had received intelligence of a “potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days”. It did not give further details.
The four European leaders visited Kyiv’s Maidan on Saturday morning, together with Zelenskyy and his wife. Thousands of flags have been planted in the central square, to remember those who have been killed in the war with Russia. The leaders paid their respects and had a moment of silence, before heading to talks with Zelenskyy. Later, Downing Street said the five would beam into a virtual meeting to update other leaders on progress being made for a so-called “air, land, maritime and regeneration force” that is planned to be part of a peace deal.
“We are ready to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the ceasefire, and prepare for a full peace deal,” said the statement.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine. Until Russia agrees to an enduring ceasefire, we will ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine.”
It is Macron’s first visit to Kyiv since summer 2022, and the first visit as chancellor for Merz, who only took office this week.
RHM/
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