KYIV: European Union chief Charles Michel on Fri­day reiterated support for Ukraine’s closer integration with the bloc during a summit in the capital hosted by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Ukraine is the EU, the EU is Ukraine,” Michel said at a press conference with Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, adding: “The EU is with you today, the EU will be with you and your people tomorrow.”

The European Union offered strong support for Ukraine at the summit but set “no rigid timelines” for its accession to the wealthy bloc.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had hoped the EU would put Ukraine on a rapid road to membership. But he used the summit to step up calls for his allies to deliver long-range weapons to help repel Russian forces besieging the city of Bakhmut and occupying much of the Donbas region in the east of the country.

“If weapons (supplies) are quickened, specifically long-range weapons, we not only will not leave Bakhmut, but we will also begin to deoccupy Donbas, which has been occupied since 2014,” he told a joint news conference after the summit. Ukrainian forces have held out for months in Bakhmut, where fighting has been fierce.

“Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress,” Zelensky said.

Air raid sirens blared across Ukraine twice during the day as Zelensky hosted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, chairman of the 27 EU national leaders. The EU-Ukraine summit was the first on Ukrainian soil since the Russian invasion on Feb 24, 2022. It focused on improving access for Ukrainian products to the EU market, helping Ukraine cover its energy needs after weeks of Russian air strikes, new sanctions on Moscow and prosecuting Russian leaders for the war.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2023