by the associated pressFrance pledged additional military aid to Ukraine on Sunday, including light tanks, armored vehicles, training for troops and other aid, as Ukrainians turned against Russian forces after impromptu talks in Paris between the Ukrainian and French presidents. Ready to retaliate.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and France’s Emmanuel Macron met for nearly three hours at the French President’s Elysee Palace – an encounter that wrapped up his multi-stop European tour shortly before he arrived in Paris from Germany on a French government jet. expanded.
With plans to launch a Ukraine offensive in hopes of regaining territory occupied by Russia, military aid was a top agenda item. Macron’s office said France would supply dozens of light tanks and armored vehicles “in the coming weeks”, without giving specific numbers. It was also promised that there would be more air defense systems, but again the details were not made public.
Macron’s office said more Ukrainians would also be drafted for combat, with France aiming to train about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France this year and another 4,000 in Poland.
In a statement, France described its support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as “unwavering” and promised that its political, economic, humanitarian and military aid would continue “as long as necessary”.
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In a tweet upon his arrival, Zelensky said: “With each visit, Ukraine’s defense and offensive capabilities are expanding. Relations with Europe are getting stronger and the pressure on Russia is increasing.
France has supplied Ukraine with a range of weapons, including air defense systems, light tanks, howitzers and other weapons, and equipment and fuel.
France sent a plane to pick up Zelensky in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier on Sunday and discussed his country’s planned retaliation. Zelensky said the aim would be to liberate Russia-occupied territories within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, not to invade Russian territory.
The Washington Post cited previously undisclosed documents from a group of US intelligence leaks that say Zelensky has discussed possible use as bargaining chips in peace talks to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022. Considered trying to capture territories in Russia. In opposition to Western governments who have insisted that the weapons provided by them should not be used to attack targets in Russia.
When asked about the report, Zelensky said: “We do not attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.”
According to an official interpreter, “We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia).” “And we don’t even have spare weapons with which to do that.”
“We are preparing to retaliate to the illegally occupied territories on the basis of our constitutionally defined legitimate borders, which are recognized internationally,” Zelensky said.
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The territories occupied by Russia are the Crimean peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with a predominantly Russian-speaking population.
A Luftwaffe jet flew Zelensky from Rome to the German capital, where he met Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Saturday.
It was his first visit to Berlin since the start of the invasion and came a day after the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), which included tanks , anti-aircraft systems and ammunition were included. ,
Zelensky thanked Scholz for the support, adding that Germany is now second only to the United States in providing aid to Ukraine – and joked that he is working to make it the largest donor.
“German air defense systems, artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles are saving the lives of the Ukrainian people and bringing us closer to victory. Germany is a reliable ally! Together we are bringing peace closer!” he tweeted. written on.
Scholz said that Berlin has so far given Kiev about 17 billion euros in bilateral aid and that it can expect more in the future.
Initially hesitant to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, Germany has become one of the largest suppliers of weapons to Ukraine, including the Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air defense system. Modern Western hardware is considered vital if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counter-offensive.
In the West German city of Aachen, Zelensky also received the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize, awarded to him and the people of Ukraine.
In her congratulatory speech, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen compared the war in Ukraine to the fall of the Iron Curtain more than 30 years ago.
“Every generation has its moment when it has to stand up to defend democracy and what it stands for,” she said. “For us, that moment has come.”
Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to turn back the clock of European history.
In his acceptance speech, he said, “Modern Russia waged war not only on us, as a free and sovereign state, but not only against united Europe as a global symbol of peace and prosperity.” “This is Russia’s war for the past.”