EU to keep supporting Ukraine as sanctions against Russia bite

European Union support for Ukraine will continue, as the country is the victim of aggression, stated Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, on Friday. She added that sanctions imposed on Russia are having a significant impact on its economy.

"Ukraine can rely on us because this is not just an attack on Ukraine, but an assault on the principles of the UN Charter," she said in a speech in Johannesburg, where she is attending the G20 summit.

"We've imposed 19 sanction packages, and these are indeed effective," she remarked.

"The evidence is clear when you observe the increasing challenges facing the Russian economy: rising inflation, higher interest rates, and a strained wartime economy. Gradually, the figures are proving that the sanctions are taking effect."

Her comment comes as she confirmed that she and European leaders will reach out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a U.S. peace plan on Ukraine during the current G20 summit.

"We will discuss the situation both with European leaders and with leaders here on the sidelines of the G20. I will also reach out to President Zelenskyy to discuss the matter," she told reporters on Friday.

Von der Leyen said a key principle European leaders had always upheld was "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."

The United States and Russia are negotiating a 28-point roadmap to end the war in Ukraine but Brussels has not been included in the negotiations.

Zelenskyy said he was ready for "constructive, honest and prompt work" with Washington, on Thursday after talks with a top U.S. Army official. 

According to the U.S.-backed plan, seen by Reuters, Kyiv would be required to give up the entire Donbas region - part of which Kyiv's forces control - and significantly downsize its military, conditions long seen by Ukraine's allies as tantamount to capitulation.

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