European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Kyiv this Tuesday to mark Europe Day with Ukraine's President Volodymir Zelensky. Moscow – for its part – will host a military parade to celebrate Soviet Victory Day.
Von der Leyen's visit comes as the 27-nation bloc traditionally marks its "peace and unity" on 9 May, one day after Victory in Europe Day which celebrates the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces in 1945.
On Monday, Zelensky announced his country would equally celebrate the day "together with all of free Europe".
Von der Leyen has already visited Ukraine on several occasions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago and has been a driving force in providing support for Kyiv and setting sanctions targeting the Kremlin.
Tomorrow, President @vonderleyen will be in Kyiv 🇺🇦 where she will meet President @ZelenskyyUa.
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) May 8, 2023
She will reaffirm the EU's unwavering support for Ukraine on #EuropeDay.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/5MU9nFhD7I
Only last week, Zelensky was in the Netherlands where he urged speed in having the EU welcome Ukraine as a member.
Ukraine is officially a candidate for EU membership but formal negotiations have yet to begin – a process that could take many years.
'Anti-Nazi rhetoric'
Meanwhile, Zelensky has vowed that Russian forces would be defeated in Ukraine just as Nazi Germany was defeated in 1945.
His speech, recorded at a war memorial in Kyiv on Monday, came one day ahead of Victory Day in Moscow – a Soviet war anniversary to be marked by an army parade through Red Square with security on high alert.
"All the old evil that modern Russia is bringing back will be defeated just as Nazism was defeated," Zelensky said in a video at Kyiv's World War II memorial and park.
He added he has also submitted a bill to parliament to formally commemorate World War II in Ukraine on 8 May, which for years was marked on 9 May like in Russia and other ex-Soviet countries.
The move is just the latest in a series of steps Ukraine has taken in recent years to distance itself from Moscow – including by renaming streets and towns named after Soviet figures.
It is on May 8 that most nations of the world remember the greatness of the victory over the Nazis. The world admires all those who were protecting and protected life. Who threw down the Nazi flags on the liberated territory and who opened the gates of the concentration camps.…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 8, 2023
Fresh EU sanctions on Moscow
Brussels on Monday proposed a fresh round of sanctions on Russia – with an EU spokesperson saying the measures would seek to tackle "the evasion of sanctions".
The Kremlin has leaned heavily on World War II rhetoric to justify its invasion, saying in February last year it was launching the war to "de-Nazify" Ukraine.
But Ukraine holds the Kremlin responsible for "aggression and annexation, occupation and deportation," as well as "mass murder and torture."
