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PARIS (AP) – Following surprise talks between Ukraine and France in Paris, France sent light tanks, armored vehicles, soldier training and other aid to Ukraine on Sunday as the country prepares to counterattack Russian forces. pledged additional military aid. presidents.
Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Emmanuel Macron of France met for about three hours at the French President’s Elysee Palace. was kept secret until shortly before arriving at
Ukraine plans to launch an offensive to recapture Russian-occupied territories, and military aid has been a top priority. Macron’s office said France would supply dozens of light tanks and armored vehicles “in the coming weeks”, but did not give specific numbers. An expanded air defense system was also promised, but again no details were made public.
More Ukrainians will be on the ready, according to Macron’s office, and France will train about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France this year as part of a broader European effort, with about 4,000 others in Poland. He is aiming to train in
In a statement, France said its support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity was “unwavering” and promised to continue political, economic, humanitarian and military assistance “as long as necessary”.
In a tweet upon arrival, President Zelensky said, “With each visit, Ukraine’s defense and offensive capabilities grow. Our ties with Europe grow stronger and the pressure on Russia grows.”
France supplies Ukraine with an array of weapons, including air defense systems, light tanks, howitzers, other weapons and equipment, and fuel.
France sent a plane to pick up Mr Zelensky in Germany, and Mr Zelensky met with Prime Minister Olaf Scholz early Sunday to discuss his country’s counterattack plans.. Instead of attacking Russian territory, President Zelensky said he would aim to liberate Russian-occupied territories within the internationally recognized Ukrainian borders.
The Washington Post reports a slew of U.S. intelligence leaks suggesting that President Zelensky wants to occupy areas within Russia as a bargaining chip in peace talks to end the war Russia started in February 2022. Cited an unpublished document from It stands at odds with Western governments who insist that the weapons they provide cannot be used to attack targets inside Russia.
“We are not attacking Russian territory. We are liberating our own legitimate territory,” Zelensky said when asked about the report.
“We don’t have the time or the strength (to attack Russia),” he said, according to an official interpreter. “And we don’t have the weapons to do this either.”
“We are preparing a counteroffensive against illegally occupied territories based on our constitutionally established, internationally recognized and legitimate borders,” Zelensky said.
Areas still occupied by Russia include the Crimea peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine, which are predominantly Russian-speaking.
President Zelensky arrived in the German capital from Rome on a Luftwaffe jet and met with Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday..
His visit to Berlin, his first since the start of the invasion, came a day after Germany announced new military aid to Ukraine. The total value, including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, is more than €2.7 billion ($3 billion).
President Zelensky thanked Scholz for his support and joked that Germany was now the second largest donor to Ukraine after the United States and was striving to become the largest donor.
“German air defense systems, artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles save Ukrainian lives and bring us closer to victory. Germany is a reliable ally! Together we will bring peace closer! ’” he wrote on Twitter.
Scholz said Berlin has given Kiev about 17 billion euros in bilateral aid so far, and expected more in the future.
Initially reluctant to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, Germany is now one of Ukraine’s largest suppliers of weapons, including the Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air defense system. It’s becoming The latest Western equipment is believed to be essential if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counterattack.
In the western German city of Aachen, he was also awarded the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize, which is given to Zelensky and the people of Ukraine.
In a congratulatory address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen likened the Ukraine war to the fall of the Iron Curtain more than 30 years ago.
“Every generation has times when they have to stand up for democracy and what they believe in,” she said. “For us, the moment has come.”
President Zelensky accused the Russian government of trying to turn back the clock on European history.
“Modern Russia has waged war not only against us as free and sovereign nations, but also against a united Europe as a global symbol of peace and prosperity,” he said in his acceptance speech. “This is the war of the past for Russia.”
Other development:
— President Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak announced on Sunday that five civilians were killed in a Russian unexploded ordnance in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.
— Overnight, Russia launched a “massive” attack on Ukraine with Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones, injuring more than 30 people, according to the Ukrainian military. The military said that 18 out of 23 drones were shot down, but 50 apartments, houses and other buildings were damaged by the wreckage of the drones that broke through and intercepted. did not reveal.
―Russia also fired rockets into the western city of Ternopil and the southern city of Mykolaiv, injuring an unspecified number of civilians.
– A 59-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man were killed Sunday in a shelling by Russian troops in the Chukhib district of Kharkov province in northeastern Ukraine, Olev Sinievbov, the regional governor, reported on Telegram.
– The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that Ukrainian forces killed two colonels in the Bakhmut area.
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Jordan reported from Berlin. Associated Press correspondent David Rising from Kiev and Elise Morton from London contributed to the report.
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