Von der Leyen offers accelerated EU accession process for Ukraine

BRUSSELS, April 8 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Union's (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Ukraine on Friday, promising a speedier process for the country to join the EU.

"Ukraine takes another important step towards EU membership," von der Leyen said on Twitter. She said the EU will accelerate this process "as much as we can, while ensuring that all conditions are respected."

The EU's executive chief said the bloc had allocated 1 billion euros (1.09 billion U.S. dollars) to support the Ukrainian armed forces with weapons, and a proposal to provide another 500 million euros (544 million dollars) was under discussion.

Von der Leyen and Borrell pledged the EU's support for the country during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In an earlier tweet, von der Leyen condemned the missile attack on a train station used for evacuations of civilians in the city of Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine on Friday morning, describing it as despicable.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said it did not launch any "rocket attack" on the railway station.