Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded in Paris on Wednesday night that his allies hand over fighter jets “as soon as possible” to repel Russia, after doing the same in London during a surprise tour of Europe.
As the first anniversary of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, which transformed him into a warlord, approaches, the Ukrainian leader was received at the Elysee by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who had also invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a late dinner. Before the press, the two European leaders temporized on the issue of planes, a new step in support for Kiev that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had, this morning in London, seemed to cautiously pave the way. .
On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose second trip abroad in a year after the United States in December, is due in Brussels for a European Union summit.
“It is a strong sign that the president is personally participating in this first meeting of the year of EU Heads of State and Government, a sign of European solidarity,” greeted Olaf Scholz.
“We have very little time”
The timing is crucial for Ukraine, which is worried by the Russian army’s recent successes in Donbass and fears a major offensive in the coming weeks.
“We have very little time,” insisted the Ukrainian president at the Elysée. “The sooner Ukraine gets long-range heavy weapons, the sooner our pilots get planes, the sooner this Russian aggression will end and we can return to peace in Europe,” he added during the meeting, this lightning leg of a trip kept secret until the last moment.
To Olaf Scholf, who agreed to provide heavy tanks only after long resistance and is opposed to sending fighters, he assured that it was the “most rational choice today”. The foreign minister limited himself to assuring him that the allies would support his country, particularly militarily, “as long as it is necessary.”
Macron says France is “side by side with Ukraine”
At his side, Emmanuel Macron promised to continue “the effort” of “deliveries of defense material”, according to the “operational needs” that he tried to mention during his interview.
“We are on the side of Ukraine”, “with the determination to accompany it towards victory and the restoration of its legitimate rights”, said the French president, who also stated that he wanted to “build peace” with Volodymyr Zelensky, in particular through an “international conference” in which “the maximum number of partners” participate.
The Parisian dinner contrasted with the pomp of the British visit, where the Ukrainian president addressed Parliament assembled in the grandiose setting of Westminster Hall, which hosted rare foreign leaders such as the Frenchman Charles de Gaulle in 1960, but also the coffin of the Queen Isabel. II in September.
“We know that freedom will win, we know that Russia will lose,” the Ukrainian leader insisted in London.
“I ask you and the world for simple but very important words: fighter jets for Ukraine, wings for freedom,” he said, before concluding with thanks “for the delicious English tea” and “in advance for the powerful British planes ”.
London does not rule out delivering planes
So far, Westerners have been reluctant to take this extra step for fear of an escalation with Moscow. But taboos have been falling one after another for a year and kyiv’s supporters already agreed in January to provide heavy tanks.
Seeming to open the door ajar, the British prime minister vowed to train fighter pilots “to NATO standards” “to ensure that Ukraine can defend its airspace in the future.” He asked the British Army to look into possible aircraft deliveries, a solution that he could only contemplate “in the long term”.
Speaking to the press, along with the Ukrainian president, Rishi Sunak acknowledged that aircraft deliveries were “of course part of the conversation”, but stressed that the necessary training could take up to three years. Smiling, his guest replied that the Ukrainian pilots, given their experience in the war, had already gone through the equivalent of “two and a half years” of training. However, he admitted that the priority at the moment was to receive armor and long-range weapons.
The tanks of the allied countries eagerly awaited in kyiv.
On these points, London stated that its Challenger tanks would be operational “within the next month”, and promised to immediately send longer-range artillery capabilities, without giving details.
Germany intends to provide its allies by the end of April with a first battalion of its long-awaited Leopard 2 tanks.
The Russian embassy in the UK warned that the aircraft deliveries would not go unanswered: “In such a scenario, the bloody harvest of the next round of escalation will be on your conscience, along with the military and political consequences for the European continent and the rest of the world”. everyone”.
In recent weeks, the Russian army, supported by the Wagner group paramilitaries and reinforced by hundreds of thousands of mobilized civilians, has returned to the attack, particularly in Donbass, whose annexation Moscow claims.
Source: BFM TV
