EU’s Michel set to visit Ukraine for Maidan commemoration

European Council President Charles Michel will travel to Kyiv early next week, two people briefed on the trip told POLITICO.

Michel will visit Ukraine to commemorate the Maidan protests, which started on November 21, 2013. The protests came after the decision of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to pull out of a political and economic association agreement with the EU. Russia blasted the uprising as a Western-fomented “coup” and used it to justify its military action in Ukraine in 2014.

The visit comes ahead of the European Council summit in mid-December, where EU leaders will discuss the recommendation of the European Commission to open formal accession negotiations with Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv just ahead of the announcement, promising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued EU support.

A spokesperson for Michel said they could not confirm the visit but that they will be in Berlin in the beginning of next week.