what are the stakes of Volodymyr Zelensky’s fourth visit to France since the start of the Russian invasion?

If the Russian president does not appear alongside Joe Biden, the President of the United States, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, even though Russia contributed to the fall of Nazism, it is because of the “war of aggression” that Moscow is leading in Ukraine, Paris said. Russia was thus formally excluded from the celebrations this year, while Vladmir Putin was still present in 2014 despite the annexation of Crimea three months earlier.

An opportunity to dialogue with allies

Faced with incessant attacks from Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky calls for ever more military aid. To do this, the Ukrainian president has been increasing his travels to several European countries in recent days. But this coming to France represents a particular opportunity: according to former president François Hollande, interviewed on Flance Bleu, his presence could allow “dialogues that can be done directly”to the extent that the Ukrainian president “will be among his partners”.

The Ukrainian head of state will meet Joe Biden on the sidelines of the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, “to discuss the state of play in Ukraine and how we can continue to deepen our support for Ukraine”declared an American spokesperson. This exchange is all the more important since the President of the United States will not be present during the peace summit for Ukraine, which is to be held in Switzerland in mid-June.

An opportunity to sign agreements

Beyond the unofficial discussions, two agreements will also be signed by Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron. The first should make it possible to provide the French Development Agency (AFD) with “projected funds of 400 million euros in loans and 50 million in donations until 2027” in order to “to expand its activities in Ukraine”. This will allow AFD to “deploy its entire range of instruments (…) to intervene in support of Ukrainian local authorities, in coordination and complementarity with donors already present in Ukraine”, explained the Elysée. The priority areas of intervention will be the energy and transport sectors.

The second agreement will concern the establishment of a “support fund” for critical infrastructures, endowed with 200 million euros, “to support French companies in future calls for tenders (…) in the fields of energy, transport, water and sanitation, health and agriculture”. “These funds will be used to finance important projects, to strengthen or replace failing energy infrastructures” because they are particularly targeted by Moscow. These two agreements are equivalent to a total of 650 million euros in the form of loans and donations to Ukraine.

A formalization on the sending of trainers?

Although France officially does not have military trainers in Ukraine, the issue has been widely discussed in recent days, and suggests an announcement on this point on Friday. The idea dates from the conference for Ukraine convened at the Elysée in February. European countries agreed to send trainers to Ukrainian soil. However, the mission is now accomplished remotely in the UK, France or Poland.

The Paris project, supported by countries like Lithuania and Estonia, would therefore be to train Ukrainian soldiers in their own country. Discussions are underway between Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky on mine clearance training or the formation of motorized brigades. In the event that the sending of instructors were to be made official on Friday, the French commitment alongside the Ukrainians would constitute a new message sent to Moscow.

Anticipating such a scenario, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the press on Tuesday that“no instructor involved in training Ukrainian military personnel has immunity”. In other words, Moscow will not refrain from targeting targets where these foreign soldiers are located.

A visit for electoral purposes in the middle of the campaign?

This arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky, however, clashes with the calendar of the European elections: less than 72 hours before the election, several voices are being raised to denounce the possible benefits of this trip on the majority’s campaign. In the National Assembly, MP Olivier Marleix, president of the Les Républicains group, thus judged “displaced” to invite “President Zelensky to come and express themselves”accusing Emmanuel Macron of “parasitize” the European debate. “This obviously does not take away from our support for the Ukrainians”he clarified.