24th EU-Ukraine Summit To Take Place in Kyiv As The War-Torn Country Battles To Repel Russian Invasion

The meeting is likely to bring new sanctions against Russia but can end up disappointing Ukraine’s hope for membership to the EU.

This handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential press-service on February 2, 2023 shows the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) signing a UKrainian national flag during a meeting of the European Commission and Ukraine's government, in Kyiv. ( Image Source :AFP )

New Delhi: European Union leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv as the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit is set to take place on Friday. President of the European Council Charles Michel, and Ursula von der Leyen will hold talks Zelenskyy. This is the first EU-Ukraine summit since the beginning of the Russian aggression.

The meeting is likely to bring new sanctions against Russia but can end up disappointing Ukraine’s hope for membership to the EU, as the news agency Reuters reported. Zelenskyy has been demanding more strict measures against Russia but new sanctions are set to fall short of the Ukraine government’s demands, according to the news agency. The meeting comes after a Russian missile destroyed an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, killing at least three people, police said.

According to Reuters, the senior members of the EU's executive met their counterparts in Ukraine. EU officials stated that the talks included a discussion of providing more arms and money for Ukraine and ensuring more access for Ukrainian products to the EU market.
 
In an evening address on Thursday, Zelenskyy said, "Today ... we reached a very important mutual understanding". "That only together - a strong Ukraine and a strong European Union - can we defend the life that we value, and through our further integration, provide energy and motivation for our people to fight on regardless of obstacles and threats," as quoted by Reuters.

Zelenskyy during an assessment said that the Russian troops push for gains that they could show on the first anniversary of their invasion on February 24, which has made the situation on the front lines in eastern Ukraine “tougher”, news agency Reuters reported. Despite supporting Ukraine and backing its democratic and economic reforms, European Union is not ready to admit a country at war, and in any case, the process takes years.

Ukraine applied to join shortly after Russia's invasion and received formal candidate status from the EU in June. The EU-Ukraine summit is coming at a time when the pressure from Russia has intensified on Ukrainian forces in eastern battlegrounds but also in the northeast and south.