Étienne de Poncins, French ambassador to kyiv, gives an exclusive report on the war in Ukraine on Sunday on franceinfo, after more than a year of conflict.
“The phase of strikes on energy infrastructure is behind us”said Sunday April 23 on franceinfo Etienne de Poncins, French ambassador in kyiv, when the war in Ukraine began a little over a year ago.
franceinfo: What is the situation?
Etienne de Poncins : We are shocked. There are several successive phases. The phase of strikes on energy infrastructure is behind us. The Ukrainians overcame this ordeal. It was feared that the Ukrainians would no longer have heating or electricity, that was the goal sought by the Russians. But winter is over and this ordeal is behind us.
“Energy-wise things are better, but militarily things are very difficult. In the Donbass, the Ukrainian army is fighting step by step.”
Etienne de Poncins, French Ambassador to kyivon franceinfo
A spring counter-offensive is preparing on the Ukrainian side. Do you see it clearly?
No, but that’s normal, it’s part of the fog of war. I can simply say that the Ukrainians are like the first day, totally determined, courageous, that they are fighting. The message from France is very clear, since February 24, 2022, we have been helping Ukrainians as much as possible in all areas, military, humanitarian, political, diplomatic. Ukrainians project themselves into the future and begin to think about reconstruction.
Can they already think about it?
Ukrainians are rebuilding. They are always thinking about the next step. We have passed the winter season and they are preparing for the next one by strengthening their resistance and their resilience. They are going to redo their infrastructure. We spoke with Clément Beaune (who went to Ukraine at the end of the week) about the rails. They need rails to run the train which is an essential factor in the Ukrainian resistance. So they anticipate.
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Can France help?
The President of the Republic has appointed a special envoy for these reconstruction issues. We are there to participate and the visits of the last few days have made it possible to identify Ukrainian needs. They know very well what they need, their priority sectors. We will try to align our offer of aid with the needs expressed by Ukrainians.
Is France very present on the spot, in particular the companies?
Yes. There are two very well-established French banks in Ukraine, BNP and Crédit Agricole. They continued to operate, they stayed open, they helped their Ukrainian customers and the Ukrainians are very grateful to us. We are also supporting Ukraine at war in the economic field.