Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East had taken focus away from the war in Ukraine.
"Of course, it's clear that the war in the Middle East, this conflict, is taking away the focus," Mr Zelensky said in a press conference with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
— Ursula von der Leyen November 4, 2023 "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," she wrote. Ukraine, which applied to join the European Union days after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, sees joining the trade bloc as a top priority.