Spox Confirms VdL, Borrell Visits To Kyiv This Week

A European Commission spokesman has confirmed that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell will both travel to Kyiv this week to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

• Comes just days after European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also traveled to the Ukrainian capital for talks with the president.
• Visit is not a major surprise, given Slovenian PM Janesz Jansa (who previously visited Kyiv during the war alongside his Polish and Czech counterparts) tweeted last night about the possibility VdL and Borrell could travel there.
• Zelensky will be hoping to convince the EU leaders to push member states to up provisions of lethal aid to Ukrainian forces and to cut off supplies of Russian hydrocarbons to the West. The latter request likely to fall on deaf ears given member state objections.