European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has reiterated the European Union's emphatic support for Ukrainians "for as long as it takes" to thwart Russia's 10-month-old invasion, noting that she'd had her first call of the new year with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"I conveyed my wholehearted support and best wishes for 2023 to the Ukrainian people," von der Leyen wrote on Twitter on January 2. "The EU stands by you, for as long as it takes."
In a statement following the call, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was expecting to receive the first 2023 tranche of EU macrofinancial aid this month.
"We feel support & will win together," he wrote on Twitter.
Von der Leyen has made multiple visits to Kyiv since tens of thousands of Russian troops poured across the Ukrainian border from Russia and Belarus in late February 2022 in the largest foreign invasion in Europe since World War II.
The attack has met with staunch Ukrainian defense of its territory and unprecedented international sanctions on Moscow and Russians.
"We support your heroic struggle," von der Leyen wrote, describing it as a "fight for freedom and against brutal aggression."
She cited continued "strong financial assistance" to Ukraine and said distribution of an 18-billion-euro support package would start "soon."
She also said humanitarian efforts this winter would include "generators, light bulbs, shelters, [and] school buses."
Von der Leyen said she looked forward to meeting Zelenskiy again "in Ukraine soon."
