German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv today. The photo of the three European leaders from the train was first published by the Italian newspaper La Republicca, and later the arrival was confirmed by the head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia Oleksandr Kamyshyn.
"A message of strong solidarity will be conveyed," a source in the Italian government told reporters.
The press service of Ukrzaliznytsia added that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi wished a good morning from the Ukrainian diplomatic train.
"And it will be good for us if the three European leaders also agree to support the correct conclusion on Ukraine's application for EU candidate status," the company said.
The visit of Scholz, Draghi and Macron has not been officially confirmed, although the media have been writing about the preparations for the trip since last week. None of these leaders have been in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale russian military invasion.
The visit comes on the eve of a meeting of the European Commission, which is to adopt a recommendation on whether to grant Ukraine candidate status.
Scholz said he would come when the things that needed to be discussed "on the spot" appear. He stated that he would not go for the protocol "photo session". The President of Ukraine replied: "We also do not want him to just come to the photo shoot. Maybe he means that we hope for military support for Ukraine from Germany. I think he means that. Moreover, I expect that he will personally support us and that he is personally confident that Ukraine will be able to join the EU and that candidate status will be granted to Ukraine in June."
Macron, after his famous statement about "not to humiliate russia", during his speech at the NATO base in Romania yesterday sharpened his rhetoric against russia and stressed that everything should be done to help Ukrainians win.