French President Macron, German Chancellor Scholz, Italian PM Draghi to visit Kyiv on June 16 — Italian media

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi plan to visit Kyiv on June 16, the day before the European Commission is expected to give its opinion on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership, Italian newspaper La Stampa reports.

According to journalists, the leaders of European countries will travel to Ukraine by train through Romania and Poland. Scholz, Macron and Draghi are to pay their respects to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier, Kyiv was visited by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and a number of other leaders.

According to the publication, the trip of Macron and Scholz could mean a change in their rhetoric about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both leaders have been criticized for their telephone conversations with Putin, and blocking military aid, among other issues.

One of the topics of the meeting of leaders should be the unblocking of Ukrainian ports and the resumption of grain exports.

According to journalists, the trip of Scholz, Macron and Draghi will take place before the conclusion of the European Commission on the candidate status, before the meeting of the G7 countries and NATO members.

Bloomberg reported that the European Commission will provide its opinion on the status of the candidate on June 17. It is expected that the European Commission will recommend granting Ukraine candidate status, but will set conditions related to advancing judicial reform and the fight against corruption.