Both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Schultz affirmed - at a tripartite summit that brought them together in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - that their countries support Ukraine militarily in its ongoing war against Russia, as the same thing was confirmed earlier by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, earlier. Zelensky warns of Russia's victory in Bakhmut.

In a joint press conference held in Paris with his Ukrainian counterpart and the German chancellor, the French President stressed his country's "determination" to "accompany" Ukraine "until victory," and its desire to continue delivering French weapons.

Macron added that Russia will not be able to win the war, and that should not happen at all, and that Ukraine can count on France and its partners to win the war.

He stressed that support for Ukraine with military equipment will continue, and will be adapted according to developments.

In turn, the German chancellor also assured the Ukrainian president that the allies would support his country, especially militarily, "as long as necessary" to repel the Russian army.

"We are committed to Ukraine's side," Schultz said during the joint press conference.

For his part, Zelensky - who had arrived in Paris on Wednesday - demanded that his country be granted heavy weapons and aircraft "as soon as possible."

"The sooner Ukraine gets long-range heavy weapons, the sooner the pilots get planes, the sooner the end of this Russian aggression comes, and we can return to peace in Europe," he said.

This is Zelensky's second foreign tour since Russia began its war on his country about a year ago. In the first tour, he visited Poland and the United States.

After Paris, the Ukrainian president will head to Brussels to participate in the European Union summit scheduled for Thursday.

Zelensky had met earlier Wednesday in London with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In a joint press conference, Sunak said that Britain is ready to discuss everything when it comes to supporting Ukraine militarily, referring to the issue of sending fighter jets to Kyiv.

Zelensky, meanwhile, stated that the British Prime Minister expressed his desire to be able to support Ukraine with fighter jets.

Max Blaine, a spokesman for the British prime minister, said on Wednesday that he had asked Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to assess the types of aircraft that could be sent to Ukraine, according to Bloomberg News.

He added that Britain was not looking to send Typhoon planes to Ukraine in the near future, but saw the possibility of sending the planes as a long-term solution.


Bakhmut.. a battle of fate

On the other hand, the Ukrainian president said - in an interview with the French newspaper "Le Figaro" yesterday, Wednesday - that if the Russians took over the city of Bakhmut, located in the east of the country, which has been the scene of bloody battles for more than 6 months, they would get an "advantage" and would like to "Go further."

"Of course, from a strategic point of view, Bakhmut is of no importance because the Russians completely destroyed the city with their artillery. But if they take Bakhmut, they will want to go further. It will give them an advantage," Zelensky said.

He added, "The question is: What happens after Bakhmut?", and pointed out that "we must hold out until we get the weapons."

Bakhmut - a city that had a population of about 70,000 people before the war - is considered one of the hotspots on the eastern front, and the belligerents there have been waging a devastating battle since the summer.

Portugal intends to supply Ukraine with tanks

In another context, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said - yesterday, Wednesday - that his country is working to repair some of its Leopard 2 tanks, and will send three of them to Ukraine next month.

The comments come after Costa said on Saturday that his country was in talks with Germany to obtain spare parts needed to repair broken Leopard tanks in Portuguese armories.

"We are currently carrying out the repair and maintenance plan for the Leopard 2 tanks. According to the plan, we are in a position to send 3 of them in March... This is what we are working on," Costa told parliament.