Paris: France pledged on Sunday to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, including light artillery, anti-aircraft vehicles and training for troops.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to Paris and discussed the matter with the French President while preparing for a strong confrontation with the Russian army.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks for about 3 hours at the French presidential palace ‘Elysee Palace’. However, the Ukrainian president’s visit to Paris was kept secret until the last minute. He arrived in Paris on a French government jet from Germany.
Ukraine’s main need as it plans to liberate Russian-occupied territories is weapons. France will send some light artillery and anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine next weekend, Macron’s office said. However, it is not clear how many of them will be sent. In addition, France has pledged to supply more air defense systems to Ukraine.
Similarly, this year, 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in France and another 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in Poland, Macron’s office said.
In this regard, Zelenskyy tweeted: “Ukraine’s defense and offensive capabilities are expanding with each visit.” As relations with Europe strengthen, pressure on Russia is increasing.