European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged on Friday to offer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a speedier start to Ukraine's bid to become a member of the European Union.

Handing Zelenskiy a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the EU to decide on membership for Kyiv, she said: "It will not as usual be a matter of years to form this opinion but I think a matter of weeks." Zelenskiy said he would come back with answers in a week.

She underlined the sanctions put on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying: "Russia will descend into economic, financial and technological decay, while Ukraine is marching towards the European future, this is what I see."