In Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s annual address to parliament, he said his country had “become one of the world’s leaders” thanks to the unity of its citizens, calling for continued national unity, increased security and the realization of justice. of a court for war crimes and aggression committed by the Russians. On the same day, he received the French defense minister after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, promising to work to meet Kiev’s needs “in the coming weeks”.
In a message dedicated to Ukraine, the head of state emphasized how the country has “changed the whole world” thanks to its example of unity and resistance. “We have achieved what almost no one in the world, all over the world, believed in. Hardly anyone except us. Ukraine has become one of the world leaders. Our national colors today are an international symbol of indomitable courage from all over the world. In every country, on every continent, when they see blue and yellow, they know freedom is at stake,” he said.
“Thanks to Ukraine, the world believes that values are empowering. The world is convinced that tyranny has failed,” he continued. On the day Ukrainian businessman and former MP Kostiantyn Zhevago was arrested at a ski resort in France on suspicion of embezzling millions, Zelensky defended social and political unity by saying that “if anyone in Ukraine’s political class thinks that skiing motivates soldiers to get out of the trenches and go on the offensive, that is a sign of madness, and there will be no such thing in politics”.
Referring to the future, Zelensky assured that normality will be restored in Donbass and Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014, and that in those regions, as in the rest, there is an urgent need to rebuild from the ruins in what is “the biggest economic project”. of our time in Europe”.
french support
Sébastien Lecornu, the French defense minister, traveled to Kiev for the first time after learning from his colleague Oleksi Reznikov that the priorities of the Ukrainian army include anti-aircraft defense and the fight against drones, artillery systems such as the French Caesar, armored vehicles and ammunition.
Paris has set up a €200 million fund for Kiev to buy equipment from French suppliers. Lecornu said the fund could be used to buy more weapons such as Mistral missiles to protect against drone strikes. “France has chosen different ways to help Ukraine,” he said, stressing that the maintenance of what is in use “is just as important as new equipment”.
Source: DN
