EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola is pushing for an increase in arms supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces. “Member States should seriously consider sending fighter jets to Ukraine,” Metsola said on the sidelines of a visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. She will continue to call for all the equipment Ukraine needs for victory to be provided.
Regarding Ukraine’s aspirations to join the European Union, Metsola said she hoped accession talks could start as early as this year. She is impressed by the pace at which the country is making progress.
Metsola arrived in the city of Lviv, about 60 kilometers from the Polish border, on Friday evening. On Saturday, the politician from Malta met, among others, Head of State Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk. With Stefantschuk she laid flowers at a memorial for fallen soldiers.
The talks were about, among other things, the “peace formula” proposed by Kiev and the prospects of a peace summit with the broad participation of countries in the Global South, the Ukrainian side said after Metsola’s meeting with Zelenskyy. In addition, the Ukrainian President has assured that he will meet the demands of the EU Commission as soon as possible in order to start accession negotiations this year.
Metsola’s program also included participation in the United for Justice international conference. She focused in particular on how Russia can be held accountable for aggression and terror against Ukraine. Speaking to the conference, Metsola said there can be no peace without accountability, freedom and justice. Appeasement policy never worked.
