“Here in Bucha we have seen our humanity shattered.”
(Photo: AP)
Brussels Ursula von der Leyen knows the bulletproof vest from her time as Federal Minister of Defense. On Friday she had to put one on again when she visited the Kiev suburb of Bucha in the Ukrainian war zone.
Together with the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal, the EU Commission President stood in front of dozens of black body bags – visible evidence of Russian war crimes.
In Bucha, the occupiers had tortured and murdered hundreds of civilians before they left. The images had caused horror around the world at the weekend. The bodies in the sacks had been dug up from a mass grave – so investigators can now clarify what happened in the small town.
“We saw the cruel face of Putin’s army,” von der Leyen said. “Here in Bucha we have seen our humanity shattered.” The whole world mourns with the residents.
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The visit was intended to be a signal of support for the EU neighbor affected by a war of aggression. Von der Leyen said they wanted to send a “clear signal” to the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians fought for common values and for democracy to triumph over autocracy.
First western leaders in Butcha
During the night, the President of the Commission traveled by train from Poland to Kyiv together with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger. Some MEPs were also on the special train.
They were the first Western top politicians to get an idea of the situation in the Bucha. But they were not the first in Kyiv. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, paid a visit last week. And in mid-March, the heads of government of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were there when Russian troops were still advancing on the Ukrainian capital.
But even if the news value of the important EU visit was no longer that great, the hosts seemed grateful for the gesture. In addition, the delegation from Brussels did not come empty-handed. Slovakia has handed over its S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine, Heger confirmed. In return, Slovakia will receive compensation from its NATO partners.
Von der Leyen also promised again to review Ukraine’s EU membership application by the summer. The EU Council, i.e. the 27 member states, would then have to decide on the opening of an accession procedure. “We will do everything we can to support Ukraine in taking the necessary steps,” said the CDU politician.
Oil embargo is “not on the table”
On the other hand, there was a damper on the most important concern of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Von der Leyen could not promise him further energy sanctions against Russia. When the fifth sanctions package was presented this week, she gave the impression that oil sanctions were being worked on.
However, the resistance of some states, including Germany, is so great that the topic is not on the agenda of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. An EU spokeswoman had to admit on Friday that there was no consensus on the issue. The oil embargo is therefore “not on the table” on Monday.
However, the issue will not go away, the pressure is growing with each new Russian attack. Rockets landed at a train station full of civilians in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Friday morning. At least 50 people died and more were injured.
In the past few weeks, tens of thousands have fled from the war to the west of the country via the train station. Von der Leyen called the attack “despicable”. EU Council President Charles Michel called for further sanctions.
More: The latest developments in the Ukraine war in the live blog