After Rome and Berlin this weekend, the Ukrainian president passed through Paris this Sunday evening. Volodymyr Zelensky came to seek political support and above all weapons.
A tour of European capitals to find weapons: in anticipation of the counter-offensive announced for weeks, the objective of which is to retake the territories occupied by Russia, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues his negotiations on the increase in military aid. If we put Crimea aside, between 16 and 17% of Ukrainian territory is in the hands of Russian forces. Whereas at the beginning of the war, it was almost a quarter of the country.
>> War in Ukraine: France will supply “dozens” of armored vehicles and light tanks to kyiv
The joint declaration by Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron published late in the night from Sunday to Monday, after dinner at the Élysée Palace, speaks of new deliveries of armored vehicles and light tanks, AMX-10s in particular, including first copies arrived in Ukraine at the end of April. Their precise number has never been communicated. The battalions that will use them will be trained by the French army. This year, Paris plans to train 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France and participate in the training of 4,000 additional soldiers in Poland.
Still no fighter planes
On the question of anti-aircraft defence, one of Kiev’s most urgent demands – which wants to counter the incessant attacks by Russian drones and missiles – France recalled that it had already delivered Caesar guns, Mistral and Crotales and that it planned to send an even more sophisticated system, the Mamba, produced jointly with Italy. A 500 million euro weapon.
Promises which remain modest, however, in view of the commitments of Germany, which announced new aid on Saturday bringing its total contribution to 17 billion euros, the largest today after the United States. But there are no combat aircraft.
Paris and Berlin have kicked in on this subject, explaining that the training and maintenance of this type of device is very complex and that it is not the priority. However, Volodymyr Zelensky also came to Europe this weekend to lobby on this subject, as he has already done with the United States or the Netherlands for the F-16s. It would be the only way for Ukraine to take advantage in the sky and perhaps change the configuration of the war… The subject is no longer taboo as it was still a few months ago, but the allies of Kiev fear above all that this equipment will give the Ukrainian soldiers the desire to push the offensive as far as Russian territory.
political support
Volodymyr Zelensky also came looking for political support: “The future of Ukraine and its people is within the European family“, says the joint declaration published in Paris. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine knocks insistently at the door of the Twenty-Seven.
This weekend, the Ukrainian president also came to take care of his relations with the three main member states of the European Union. Smiles, hugs… Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Sholz and Giorgia Meloni have all displayed their complicity with Volodymyr Zelensky before a series of international events: the G7 summit at the end of the week in Japan, the European Council in June in Brussels, and the NATO summit in the first half of July in Lithuania. The idea is to place Ukraine in a position of strength, when it deems the time has come to negotiate.