Von der Leyen - Ukraine belongs to the European Union and the bloc would like to see the country join it in time

The European Union's chief executive expressed unequivocal support for Ukraine becoming a member of the bloc, calling the country now under attack from Russia "one of us."

Ukraine belongs to the European Union and the bloc would like to see the country join it in time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Euronews on Sunday."Indeed over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in," she said.

The comments follow a historic ballot by the 27-nation EU - a vote to supply weapons to Ukraine.She told Euronews: "We have a process with Ukraine that is, for example, integrating the Ukrainian market into the single market."We have very close cooperation on the energy grid, for example.

"So many topics where we work very closely together and indeed over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in."Von der Leyen also said trust in Vladimir Putin is "completely broken and eroded".

Discussing the possibility of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, she said: "Of course, it is important that the Ukrainian side agrees to the peace talks and that conditions are fine for the Ukrainian side. In general, it is always better to have peace talks than to have a fight. But the trust in President Putin is completely broken and eroded."