The French Minister for the Armed Forces, who is making his first trip to kyiv, reaffirmed France’s military support for Ukraine.
SourceAFP
© SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP
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Un repeated support for Ukraine. The French Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, said on Wednesday, December 28, during his first trip to kyiv, that he wanted to work to meet Ukrainian military needs “for the weeks to come”.
“Presidents (Volodymyr) Zelensky and (Emmanuel) Macron asked […] to make proposals to them for the month of January to redefine a common agenda” on French military support, Sébastien Lecornu explained during a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiï Reznikov.
He said he had discussions with the Ukrainian minister on the “tactical and strategic situation” on the ground and on “the needs of the Ukrainian army for the weeks to come”. Sébastien Lecornu met the Ukrainian president during a working meeting at midday. In front of the press, the French minister mentioned “the innovative fund of 200 million euros” which allows Ukraine to buy equipment directly from French industrialists, according to Ukraine’s priorities to deal with the Russian army.
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Military support mainly provided by the United States
In mid-December, an international conference of support for Ukraine, organized in Paris, had made it possible to garner more than 1 billion euros in donations to help, in particular, the population. A ranking by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in December places France in 10e position, behind the United Kingdom, Poland or Germany, for its military support for kyiv, provided above all by the United States.
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Another topic of discussion between the two leaders: the problem of repairing Western military equipment damaged on the battlefield. “The maintenance of what has already been given to Ukraine is just as important as new equipment,” said Sébastien Lecornu.
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“Anti-aircraft warfare and defence”, “artillery systems like the Caesars” (French), the supply of ammunition and armored vehicles, as well as the fight “against Iranian drones” are currently among the priorities of the Ukrainian army, argued Oleksiï Reznikov. Paris has said it is considering supplying kyiv with more surface-to-air missiles. During the day, Sébastien Lecornu had laid a wreath in front of the “Wall of Heroes”, a memorial in kyiv dedicated to soldiers killed on the front since 2014.