During his visit to Kyiv, Josep Borrell, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has spoken about the need for Ukraine's political unity, the implementation of reforms and the need for effective democratic mechanisms in this country. 

Borrell said at a joint briefing with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv that Ukraine should continue to implement reforms, making significant progress on the European path despite the difficult conditions of war. 

He also spoke about the need for unity among politicians and society while the full-scale war has been going on for almost two years.

"Ukraine has shown exceptional resilience and exceptional unity of society and a great consensus among the main political forces on the key goals of the country. 

There are political differences, democracy is of course about political differences. But unity is key to your victory. I was happy to say that to the members of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament – ed.) this morning," Borrell said.

The top EU diplomat added that he wanted to emphasise how important it is to maintain the effective work of the democracy mechanism, the rule of law and anti-corruption institutions.

"But it is also very important to preserve the unity of the country for political forces and society," he said.

One of the conditions for the EU to provide Ukraine with €50 billion of macro-financial support for four years is that Ukraine continues to support and respect effective democratic mechanisms.