The new head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, made her first trip to Ukraine on Monday to “show France’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people (…) in the face of Russian aggression”, said Monday the Quai d’Orsay.
She is the highest-ranking French official to visit Ukraine since the Russian attack began on February 24.
The Minister will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, “to discuss in particular the blocking of grain and oilseed exports from Ukraine which raises real risks of food insecurity”, specified the communicated.
The Minister will also travel to Boutcha, a town in the suburbs of Kyiv where massacres of civilians attributed to Russian troops took place. She “will hand over civil security equipment (fire trucks and ambulances)” to the authorities.
Ms. Colonna had booked her first foreign visit to Germany last Tuesday. She had stressed that “none of the G7 countries (was) at war against Russia” but called for “further strengthening our support for Ukraine over time, on all fronts”.
She also mentioned Emmanuel Macron’s idea of a “European political community”, likely to welcome Ukraine or Great Britain.
President Zelensky is due to address European leaders gathered in Brussels on Monday for an extraordinary summit devoted to his country.