London, Paris then Brussels: the European journey of the Ukrainian president is scrutinized for the Ukrainians, whom the franceinfo correspondent in kyiv met.
And now, the time for decisions? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Wednesday evening in Paris that his allies deliver combat planes to him in “earlierto fend off Russia, having done the same in London on a surprise European tour.
>> LIVE. War in Ukraine: Macron and Zelensky will go together this morning to the EU summit in Brussels
As the first anniversary of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, which transformed him into a warlord, approaches, the Ukrainian leader was welcomed at the Élysée by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who also had invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a late dinner. In front of the press, the two European leaders temporized on the question of the planes, a new step in the support for kyiv to which the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had, earlier in the day in London, seemed to pave the way with caution. Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky, for whom this is the second trip abroad for a year, must go to Brussels for a summit of the European Union, where he will again plead for the sending of weapons quickly in particular. So many elements which are particularly scrutinized by the inhabitants of kyiv, who are on the same line of their president.
“West is home, East is hell”
Thus, after his surprise and historic visit to Washington last December, Volodymyr Zelensky chose London for his first European stopover. Nothing surprising slips Oleg, 32, a returning fighter from Donbass. “I think it’s normal that Volodymyr Zelensky went to London first, because Britain has been very supportive of Ukraine. This is an example to follow for the European Union and for other countries. We need weapons, F 16 planes, tanks, armored vehicles. Enough words, we want action!“, he pleads.
Short-term weapons and membership of the European Union as soon as possible: that is what the Ukrainians are demanding, like Sviatoslav Yurash, 26 years old, the youngest Ukrainian deputy. “One of the root causes of our struggle in Ukraine is integration into the European Union and we want to achieve this by all means. This is to speed up the process of joining, because for us the West is home, and the East is hell“, he insists.
And if Ukraine enjoys strong support from Europe, the road to membership is strewn with pitfalls.
The report of Omar Ouahmane in kyiv
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