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00:00 Wearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, Ursula von der Leyen was welcomed in Kiev
00:04 by Volodymyr Zelensky.
00:06 Marking Europe Day, the President of the European Commission arrived once again to show the
00:11 Union support for the country, faced with the Russian invasion.
00:15 Simultaneously, Moscow celebrated the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany with traditional
00:20 pomp.
00:21 "Courageously, Ukraine is fighting for the ideals of Europe that we celebrate today.
00:30 In Russia, Putin and his regime have destroyed these values.
00:36 And now they are attempting to destroy them here in Ukraine."
00:41 A display of support that the Ukrainian President wants to turn into concrete action.
00:46 Volodymyr Zelensky has called upon European states yet again to speed up their deliveries
00:50 of ammunition.
00:51 He's also urging them to lift European restrictions on Ukrainian grain exports.
00:57 The restrictions have been adopted by several member states, including Poland, in order
01:01 to protect their farmers.
01:03 Ukraine is officially a candidate for Union membership.
01:06 But Zelensky is calling upon the EU to quicken the process.
01:10 "Our values, security, our welfare, peace on the continent, all this can be achieved
01:17 100% for Europe, only together with Ukraine.
01:20 We expect that in June the European Commission will present a positive interim assessment
01:25 of Ukraine's progress towards European integration."
01:28 For this progress to happen, the EU has asked Ukraine to speed up certain reforms, particularly
01:33 those regarding anti-corruption.
01:35 In several weeks, von der Leyen will brief EU member state leaders, before giving them
01:40 an official report on Ukraine's progress in anti-corruption and democratic reform.
01:45 will then decide whether to start formal EU membership talks.