Russia is threatened with disintegration due to the tightening of sanctions, and Ukraine has a European future, said the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, quoted by BTA.
“As Ukraine moves towards a European future, Russia will fall into economic, financial and technological decline,” von der Leyen said at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
“Your struggle is our struggle. I am here in Kyiv with you to send a very strong signal: the EU is on your side. We are on your side, “she added.
Von der Layen has condemned the mass killings of civilians in the city of Bucha, for which Ukraine blames Russian troops occupying a small town northwest of the Ukrainian capital.
“We are mobilizing our economic power to force (Vladimir) Putin to pay a very, very high price,” she said.
For his part, Zelensky said that although he was “personally grateful” to von der Laen for the five series of sanctions imposed by the EU, “this is not enough.”
Von der Layen also visited Bucha today, accompanied by European Foreign Minister Josep Borrel and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger.