Ukraine asks for help to get through the winter. French President Emmanuel Macron gathered the international community in Paris on Tuesday to help Ukrainians “resist during this winter” against a Russia that “attempts to sow terror.” After the conferences in Lugano, Warsaw and Berlin in recent months, this meeting aims to be “practical-practical”, explained Emmanuel Macron. There are 70 delegations from countries and international organizations, including several heads of government.
Ukraine needs at least 800 million euros in emergency aid to cover the needs of the population during the winter, particularly in the energy sector, said his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who participated in the remote conference but whose wife left for Paris. According to the French presidency, pledges already amounted to 400 million on Tuesday morning and were to “increase during the conference.”
The objective is to neutralize the strategy implemented since October by Moscow, which consists of attacking civilian infrastructure to make the Ukrainian population suffer and weaken the resistance. “Russia, whose military weaknesses have come to light, has opted for a cynical strategy […] with a view to bringing Ukraine to its knees,” lamented Emmanuel Macron, repeating that these Russian attacks constitute “war crimes” that “will not go unpunished.”
Energy, water, transport…
“It’s cold there, Russia is shelling, trying to cut off water, electricity, gas,” said French diplomacy chief Catherine Colonna, who is orchestrating the morning conference called “Solidarity of the Ukrainian people.” Conference speakers focus on five critical areas: energy, water, food, health and transportation, to enable Ukraine to keep critical infrastructure in working order.
Regarding France, Emmanuel Macron announced an additional aid of 76.5 million euros “in the field of electricity and energy”. This is in addition to the €200 million already committed by France, of which the last €48.5 million is in the process of being disbursed. This additional aid will finance access to energy and electricity (15 million euros), access to water (5 million), food aid (14 million) and health infrastructures (8,000,000).
“We can speed up our support”
The German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, has indicated that Berlin will pay 50 million euros within the framework of this conference. On the side of the European Union, “we can speed up our support”, launched the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recalling that the EU had promised to provide Kiev with macro-financial aid of 18,000 million dirhams during the year 2023. .
Source: BFM TV
