European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv on July 15, 2026, where she met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and signed several agreements on defense and drone cooperation. Von der Leyen was accompanied by leaders from Southeast Europe, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

During the visit, a France-Ukraine agreement was reached on the supply of Samp/t air defense systems and heavy weapons, as part of broader European support for Ukrainian defense capabilities. Zelensky awarded von der Leyen the Order of Europe honor.

The European Union also opened a new accession cluster for Ukraine, advancing the country's path toward EU membership. Additionally, an agreement on drones was signed between the EU and Ukraine, enabling Kyiv to procure equipment from various suppliers, including Chinese manufacturers.

According to La Stampa, sanctions against Moscow remain in a state of uncertainty, though this claim has not been independently confirmed by other sources reporting on the visit.

Separately, a fact-checking investigation by Open confirmed that a black-and-white photograph allegedly showing von der Leyen with Jeffrey Epstein, circulating on social media, was generated by artificial intelligence. Analysis conducted with Google DeepMind's SynthID tool verified the image was AI-generated. The case and document numbers cited in the image do not exist in the official Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice. The image was traced to a pro-Kremlin disinformation network known as Pravda, previously documented by DFRLab, VIGINUM, and EDMO.