Zelenksyy Likely To Visit EU Parliament This Week

The European Union's legislature plans to host Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he decides to visit Brussels for an EU summit later this week.

According to two sources in parliament who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, such plans are only intended to prepare the legislature to host Zelenskyy if security conditions allow him to attend Thursday's meeting.

We'd be ready when he arrived, said one of the sources, emphasising that any decision could only be made at the last minute due to security concerns.

EU leaders from the 27-nation bloc will meet in Brussels on Thursday, allowing Zelenskyy to meet with all of the bloc's major leaders in one day. Zelenskyy has frequently addressed EU summits via video calls from Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has long been invited to visit Brussels if he so desires.

It is unclear whether Zelenskyy will be able to travel because Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops pinned down in the eastern Donbas region, raising fears of a new Russian offensive.

Last Friday, EU Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv and assured Zelenskyy of the EU's unwavering support in Ukraine's fight against Russia.

Zelenskyy's only trip outside Ukraine was to Washington in December to seek additional aid for the war and to thank Ukraine's major financial and military backers for their assistance.