Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky visited Berlin on Friday and then Paris, where he signed bilateral agreements while the situation has deteriorated considerably on the Ukrainian front.
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After visiting Germany, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris on Friday February 16, where he signed a bilateral security agreement with Emmanuel Macron. France is committed to paying an additional three billion euros in military aid to Ukraine in 2024. Urgent military support then the Ukrainian army was forced to abandon, on Saturday February 17, the town of Avdiïvka, in the east of the country, conceding to Russia its greatest symbolic victory after the failure of the counter-offensive launched by Kiev during the summer of 2023.
On the front, the shortage of ammunition is becoming dramatic. Not far from Zaporizhia, a group of artillerymen benefits from a technological gem: the French Caesar cannon, supposed to fire six shells per minute and known for its mobility and precision. However, he only fired one shell last night, due to the lack of ammunition which had to be rationed. “We don’t beg, but we need itexplains Valeri, the crew chief of this cannon. We all defend Europe here. I think the war is far from Europe. People watch it on television, they don’t hear the noise of the air raids. Their children are not in school shelters like ours.”
“Behind us are our homes and our children. If they return to our homes, it will be like in Boutcha and Irpin.”
Valeri, the crew chiefat franceinfo
The lieutenant of this unit speaks of frustration, sometimes even demotivation. Indeed, his men are unable to do their job and are forced to endure enemy fire. So much so that if the Russians go on the offensive again, the artillerymen wonder how they will be able to prevent them from advancing. Above all, he wonders how to protect their brothers in arms, on foot in the trenches, stuck to the front line.
