Scholz, Macron and Draghi at Zelensky in Kyiv

Four top European politicians are on a state visit to Ukraine on Thursday. At half past seven, the special train with French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi from Poland arrived. Romania’s head of state, Klaus Iohannis, also arrived at the Kyiv train station. That this is not a normal visit was shown by the fact that air raid alarms were sounded in the capital twice during the day.

The three Western European politicians, who represent the continent’s three most important economic powers, took three months to travel to Kyiv – significantly longer than, say, Boris Johnson, Poland’s President Duda and his Baltic counterparts. They visited Kyiv in April, when the city was still fought over. But they came with a clear message: “Ukraine is part of the European family,” said Scholz during a press conference in the afternoon. Germany, France and Italy wanted the country, along with Moldova, to have EU candidate status.

sign of solidarity

The goal of the trip was a “signal of European solidarity” to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian people, according to the heads of state and government. Shortly before noon (local time) they first traveled to Irpin. In the first weeks of the war, Russian troops had caused particularly heavy destruction in the city outside of Kiev and shot several hundred civilians. In the early afternoon, the four politicians met the Ukrainian President.

For his part, the German Chancellor had always emphasized that he did not want to join “a group of people who do something for a short in and out with a photo shoot”. Before arriving in Kyiv, Scholz said that humanitarian, financial and military aid would continue “as long as it is necessary for Ukraine’s struggle for independence”.

However, the Chancellor has been under criticism for weeks because promised arms deliveries have only started very slowly and further delays are foreseeable. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense announced that it would send three multiple rocket launcher systems – Scholz had spoken of four at the beginning of the month. They should now arrive in the war zone by August at the latest.

Ukraine is hoping for even more extensive commitments from the visit. The ambassador in Berlin not only demanded hundreds of tanks, but also combat ships in the medium term, in order to counter the Russian superiority in the Black Sea. Zelensky also repeats every day that a victory in the Donbass is impossible without more heavy weapons from the West in large numbers. The US announced another $1 billion worth of shipments on Wednesday. For its part, France has provided state-of-the-art howitzers and anti-tank missiles.

political signals

Western Europeans faced some skepticism in Kyiv, as they have consistently stressed the importance of staying in touch with Vladimir Putin. You also spoke to him on the phone several times. President Macron also said that Russia should not be “humiliated” and that every war must end in negotiations. “We stand firmly on the side of the Ukrainians,” said Macron during the visit to dispel skepticism. At the press conference he also announced further arms deliveries.

The Ukrainians fear, however, that behind the actually unspectacular call for negotiations lies the implicit demand of the Europeans to make territorial concessions in return for an end to hostilities. The negotiations in Minsk after the annexation of Crimea continue to cast a long shadow. Ukrainians see the 2015 agreement as a dictated peace whose rotten compromises have led to today’s conflict.

Before the visit, commentators also warned against “Minsk III” – especially as one notices in Kyiv that the war-weariness of the European population is growing rapidly in view of rising energy prices. Support for Ukraine’s candidate status is therefore not a matter of course, especially since Scholz expressed audible skepticism during a visit to the Western Balkans a week ago. A few days later, Macron’s rhetoric sounded different: during a visit to Moldova on Wednesday, he called for “a clear signal” to both countries.

This was given during the visit, which took place shortly before important EU, NATO and G-7 summits. The member states will decide on Ukraine’s candidate status next week, and the EU Commission is expected to make a recommendation as early as this Friday.

Assistance: Susann Kreutzmann, Berlin