PARIS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday as part of a European diplomatic tour aimed at securing additional military and financial support for Ukraine, ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.
During the meeting, which marks Zelensky’s fifth visit to Paris since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian leader discussed strategies to repel Russian forces and maintain the flow of Western aid amid fears of waning support if former US President Donald Trump wins the election next month.
Zelensky’s European tour has already taken him to London, where he met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to present his plan for countering Russian aggression.
The Ukrainian president is scheduled to visit Rome and Berlin as part of his 48-hour trip aimed at galvanizing Western backing ahead of what is expected to be Ukraine’s toughest winter since the invasion began.
Ukraine faces a severe winter as Russian forces escalate their attacks on the country’s power infrastructure and make gains along the eastern frontlines. Zelensky’s meetings are seen as critical in securing resources to withstand the growing military and humanitarian crisis.
The Elysee Palace confirmed that Macron used the talks to reaffirm France’s “unwavering support” for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Macron emphasized that France, along with its international partners, remains committed to providing long-term military and economic assistance to Kyiv in its fight against Russian forces.
The talks with Macron came just a day after the French president made an unusual visit to a military camp in eastern France, where the French army is training 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers. The brigade, named Anne of Kyiv after the 11th-century Kyiv-born princess who married French King Henri I, is receiving training in France to bolster Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
Zelensky’s diplomatic push comes as the conflict enters a critical phase, with Ukraine’s military under increasing pressure from Russian advances and targeted infrastructure attacks. A planned meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Germany this Saturday was postponed after U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his visit to focus on the approaching Hurricane Milton.
