French Minister of the Armed Forces visiting kyiv promises to help Ukraine further
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov on December 28, 2022 in kyiv.
© Gleb Garanich / Reuters
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French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu traveled to kyiv on Wednesday December 28, his first visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.
The objective of this visit was to discuss military cooperation between France and Ukraine, and to take stock of the weapons already supplied, during meetings with his Ukrainian counterpart and also the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Ukrainian television broadcast images of the meeting.
Volodymyr Zelensky took the opportunity to thank Emmanuel Macron for the help provided, in particular
the Caesar guns and the Crotales missiles
, but also for the organization of the international conference in support of Ukraine, held recently in Paris.
This has made it possible to collect more than a billion euros in donations
to help the population
get through the winter
.
According to a press release from the Ukrainian presidency, the Ukrainian head of state also informed the French Minister of the Armed Forces of the situation at the front and of the army's urgent defense needs.
A discussion that Sébastien Lecornu was able to deepen with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Alongside Oleksiï Reznikov and in front of the press, the French minister mentioned "
the innovative fund of 200 million euros
" which allows Ukraine to buy equipment directly from French manufacturers, according to the priorities of Ukraine to face the Russian army.
The Ukrainians have reportedly shown interest in a drone detection system made by Thales.
In addition to providing missiles or ammunition that Ukraine lacks, the other priority of this fund is the maintenance of equipment already provided that could be damaged.
France has so far provided 18 Caesar guns mounted on trucks, forward armored vehicles and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
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France
Defense
Ukraine
Sebastien Lecornu
Volodymyr Zelensky
Russia