European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen went to Kyiv on Wednesday to mark Ukraine’s annual Statehood Day, pledging continued military and financial support for the country’s independence as it holds out against Russia’s 4-year-old military operation.
Ukraine’s sovereignty has been threatened since Russian forces occupied Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 and Moscow illegally annexed the peninsula, followed eight years later by the all-out operation of February 2022. Statehood Day, celebrating the country’s self-determination, is a public holiday in Ukraine.
Senior officials from southeastern European countries also were expected in Kyiv on Wednesday for a periodic gathering focused on Black Sea and regional security. Last year’s meeting in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa reaffirmed the countries’ support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently won important pledges of further support, including from the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations and the so-called Coalition of the Willing countries.
Von der Leyen, the European Union’s top official, said her trip to the Ukrainian capital was her 11th in wartime. Europe is watchful of Russia’s broader intentions on the continent and has provided billions of euros (dollars) to Ukraine as well as diplomatic support.
Von der Leyen said she would announce new steps toward integrating the European and Ukrainian defense industries as well as providing new help to prepare Ukrainian air defenses for next winter, when Russia usually tries to knock out the power.
