Ukraine has been able to export 100 million tons of goods through EU “solidarity lanes,” European Commission President said on Nov. 4.
President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed von der Leyen in Kyiv for her sixth wartime visit.
“I’m here to discuss Ukraine’s accession path to the EU. The EU’s financial support to rebuild Ukraine as a modern, prosperous democracy. And how we will continue to make Russia pay for its war of aggression,” Von der Leyen said earlier on Nov. 4.
The EU Commission presented the solidarity lanes in May 2022 to facilitate Ukraine’s agricultural exports, even before Turkey and the U.N. brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July of that year.
Von der Leyen vowed that the EU would continue to help Ukraine export its agricultural products through the solidarity lanes after Russia terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative in mid-July of this year.
During the joint press briefing with Zelensky on Nov. 4, von der Leyen said that most of the 100 million tons shipped through the solidarity lanes were agricultural products and brought Ukraine 42 billion euros in 16 months.
The solidarity lanes are vital because they help Ukraine export 65% of its agricultural products, von der Leyen added.
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