EU Council chief backs Ukraine's membership drive

During a visit to Kiev, European Council President Charles Michel reiterated his support for Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Charles Michel visited Ukraine and met President Volodymyr Zelensky. The European Council President said the bloc's financial, military and political support for Kiev amid its conflict with Moscow, revealing when the EU will respond to Ukraine's membership bid.

It takes eight months for the Commission to publish an opinion. We are in close contact with the substance. Michel will have the opinion of the Commission at the end of June, he said, during a joint press conference with Zelensky, he feels very strong support for Ukraine's EU membership drive.

There has been a lot of talk about joining the EU for decades, but little progress has been achieved. The process was revigorated after the Russian invasion began late in February, with Zelensky repeatedly urging Brussels to take the country in.

Early in April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a special questionnaire, the first step toward a country formally becoming a candidate for EU membership. Kiev submitted the first part of the application less than a week after receiving the document.

Michel praised the Ukrainian government's membership drive and continued financial and military support for the Kiev authorities, as well as supporting Ukraine's EU membership drive. The official stated that the bloc wants Kiev to beat Moscow in the battlefield.

We have 1.5 billion dollars of military equipment, and we are trying to convince the member states to add bilateral support to make sure that what we provide is what you need, according to Michel.

The EU council chief also touched on the alleged war crimes that Kiev blames on Russian troops. Moscow has denied any such wrongdoing, accusing Kiev of staging a provocation to frame the country's military.

Michel toured Kiev's northwestern suburbs earlier in the day, from where Russian troops withdrew late in March, sharing his impression of what he had seen during the news conference.

I went to Borodyanka this morning to witness the situation on the ground. I feel no words to explain what I feel, not as President of the European Council, but as a father, as a human being. They have to be punished. He said it will be punished.

Kiev and its suburbs have become hotspots for European politicians lately, with top officials flocking there to show their solidarity with Ukraine. The location has been visited by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

Russia attacked its neighbor after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French Minsk Protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied it plans to retake the two republics by force.