EU leaders visit Ukraine, decry Russian brutality

Photo Credit: AP.

 A cross section of European leaders who visited Kyiv, Ukraine to show solidarity for the government and people of the troubled country has decried the unending Russian brutality since it invaded the country. The high profile visit had four top European leaders on the entourage which surveyed the ruins of a Kyiv suburb that was the scene of intense fighting early in the war and where many civilians were killed, according to AP.

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania arrived in Kyiv before heading to Irpin which was seized and briefly held by Russian troops along with other areas near the capital – previous scenes of mass graves and other human right abuses. French President Emmanuel Macron decried the massacre in the area, saying that possible war crimes had been committed against civilians especially in Bucha.

Mr Macron said the attacks on Irpin were an act of “barbarism” and praised the courage of its residents and others in the region who helped halt Russia’s attempt to overrun the capital, Kyiv.

The EU leaders later met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst criticism of not supplying Ukraine with the much needed heavy weapons to drive away the invading forces.

NATO defense ministers Thursday met in Brussels to consider more military aid for Ukraine in a bid to drive out a more resurgent Russia troops who are hell bent on grabbing Ukrainian land.

Ahead of the meeting with Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz noted that officials must keep the destruction in mind in all their decisions, according to AP.

“Innocent civilians have been hit, houses have been destroyed; a whole town has been destroyed in which there was no military infrastructure at all,” Scholz said. “And that says a great deal about the brutality of the Russian war of aggression, which is simply out for destruction and conquest. We must bear that in mind in everything that we decide.”

According to AP, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said during the tour of Irpin that Ukraine’s backers will rebuild “everything” with European help.

“They destroyed the nurseries, the playgrounds, and everything will be rebuilt,” Draghi said.

Macron, Scholz and Draghi, representing the three largest economies in Europe, traveled to Kyiv together on a special overnight train provided by the Ukrainian authorities, AP reported

President Klaus Iohannis of Romania wrote on twitter following his visit to Irpin saying there are  “no words to describe the unimaginable human tragedy and horrible destruction” and called for “all Russian perpetrators to be held responsible by the international criminal justice” system.

Romania which borders Ukraine has been a key destination for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the fighting in their country.

 The warfront in Ukraine has now shifted to the east of the country where Russian forces are accused of summary execution and mass looting of grains which it exports to Crimea, Ukrainian officials have said. Mr. Zelenskyy has described the human cost of the war in the Donbas region as terrifying and called for long range missiles to push out the invading Russian forces.