European leaders going to Kyiv to show support for Ukraine amid Russian invasion

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine edged closer to central Kyiv on Tuesday, with a series of strikes hitting a residential neighborhood in the capital as the two countries planned a second day of talks.

The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are traveling to Ukraine's capital Tuesday on a European Union mission to show support for the country as Russia’s forces move closer to Kyiv.

A crane removes a ruined car from in front of a destroyed apartment building after it was shelled in the northwestern Obolon district of Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP)

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet: “The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence.”

He will be joined by Slovak Prime Minister Janez Janša, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is Poland's deputy prime minister for security and the leader of the conservative ruling party.

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine edged closer to central Kyiv on Tuesday, with a series of strikes hitting a residential neighborhood in the capital as the two countries planned a second day of talks.