During his visit, the minister is expected to meet several ministers with the idea of discussing and signing partnerships with Ukrainian industry.
How to help kyiv in the war against Moscow? French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu arrived in kyiv on Thursday September 28 to discuss the evolution of French aid to Ukraine and industrial partnerships in a conflict set to last.
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This trip comes on the eve of the first Defense Industries Forum organized by Ukraine and which will bring together, alongside Ukrainian industrialists, more than 160 companies from 26 countries, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. A meeting for “sustainably strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities while the conflict is set to last“, indicates the minister’s entourage to franceinfo, who is due to meet his counterpart Rustem Oumerov, as well as the Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin.
Change of philosophy
Because 19 months after the start of the conflict, on February 24, 2022, Ukraine, which continues to demand arms and ammunition from its supporters, is indeed preparing for a long war. If France has already supplied Ukraine with armor, Caesar cannons, VAB troop transport vehicles and even ground-to-air defense systems, Paris has limited stocks of equipment to sell under penalty of weakening its army. And this is the message that the French minister wants to convey: more than deliveries of tanks or ammunition.
It is therefore a change in philosophy that Sébastien Lecornu has just announced for his 2nd visit to kyiv, with his sights set on a possible tête-à-tête with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The message to send to him is clear: yes, France will continue to help Ukraine… but differently.
There is no longer any question of constantly drawing on the stocks of the French army, and the Ukrainians are now tasked with placing orders and buying weapons from French companies. Sébastien Lecornu will therefore play matchmaker with the delegation of French parliamentarians and industrialists from the BITD, the defense industrial and technological base. Before leaving for kyiv, some also assured that they were ready to open production lines directly in Ukraine, as a translation of the transition to the war economy requested by Emmanuel Macron. On the ground, however, the conflict seems to be bogging down as winter approaches, and Ukraine fears new Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure.