Von der Leyen is the highest-ranking official to visit Kyiv since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. It’s a sign of EU support while also highlighting Europe’s deteriorating relations with Russia. Successive packages of sanctions by the EU and its allies have failed to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged on Friday to offer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a speedier start to Ukraine's bid to become a member of the European Union.
Handing Zelenskiy a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the EU to decide on membership for Kyiv, she said: "It will not as usual be a matter of years to form this opinion but I think a matter of weeks." Zelenskiy said he would come back with answers in a week.
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She underlined the sanctions put on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying: "Russia will descend into economic, financial and technological decay, while Ukraine is marching towards the European future, this is what I see."
Zelenskiy, standing alongside the EU officials at a news conference, expressed gratitude for the EU sanctions, though he said they “are not enough.”
"Ukraine takes another important step towards EU membership," von der Leyen said on Twitter. She said the EU will accelerate this process "as much as we can, while ensuring that all conditions are respected."
The EU's executive chief said the bloc had allocated 1 billion euros (1.09 billion U.S. dollars) to support the Ukrainian armed forces with weapons, and a proposal to provide another 500 million euros (544 million dollars) was under discussion.
Von der Leyen and Borrell pledged the EU's support for the country during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In an earlier tweet, von der Leyen condemned the missile attack on a train station used for evacuations of civilians in the city of Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine on Friday morning, describing it as despicable.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said it did not launch any "rocket attack" on the railway station.
