Key developments on June 7: * Biden announces $225 million aid package for Ukraine * Macron: France to finalize coalition to send military instructors to Ukraine * Producer of Caesar howitzers to set up branch in Ukraine * Netherlands to invest $436 million to make armored vehicles for Ukraine * Russia hit 2 oil depots
"We already know that we will not be alone, and we will use the next few days to organize a broader coalition to respond to Ukraine's request,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
During the D-Day commemorations in Normandy on June 6, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that Paris would give Kyiv an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets alongside the required training. This announcement sets the stage for Ukrainian pilots to potentially deploy these versatile aircraft in striking deep into Russian
U.S. President Joe Biden "expressed concern" to French President Emmanuel Macron about his proposal to send Western military trainers to Ukraine, Politico reported on June 6.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in France ahead of the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy on June 6.
The funds will primarily focus on projects related to Ukraine's transportation and energy infrastructure, hit hard by heavy Russian assaults in 2024.
Ukraine hopes the summit will address several key areas, such as energy security, the exchange of captives, the return of deported children, global food security, and other topics.
The presence of French military instructors in Ukraine would be deemed a "legitimate target" of attack by Russia's Armed Forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 4.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on June 8 during Biden's first state visit to France, the White House announced on May 30.
"We think that we should allow them to neutralize military sites where missiles are fired, from where... Ukraine is attacked," Macron said at a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "If we tell them (Ukraine) that you are not allowed to target the place from which missiles are fired, we are in fact telling them that we are providing you with weapons but you cannot defend yourself."
Chinese President Xi Jinping supported on May 6 the idea of a global truce during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, Le Monde reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting in Paris on May 6 to discuss Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, trade issues, and the Middle East.
China wants to work with France and the rest of the international community to end the war in Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly told French media outlet Le Figaro on May 5.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto ruled out sending troops to Ukraine in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, published on May 4.
French President Emmanuel Macron added that such conditions did not currently exist.
Xi Jinping will travel to the European Union for the first time in five years. The Chinese president will begin his five-day trip to France, Serbia, and Hungary on May 5, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
"There is a risk our Europe could die. We are not equipped to face the risks," the French president said in his April 25 speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
"We want to work towards the Olympic truce and I think that this is an opportunity on which I will try to involve many of our partners," Macron said, speaking to BFMTV 100 days before the Olympics start in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to the defense enterprise near Bordeaux, said that France will participate in the global peace summit, Ukrinform reported on April 12.
French President Emmanuel Macron held confidential calls with U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February to convince them about the need for strategic ambiguity toward Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 3, citing undisclosed official sources.
French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to convince his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Lula to support Ukraine during his trip to Brazil, Bloomberg reported on March 26.
The Islamic State (IS) group, which claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall in a Moscow suburb last week, had recently made "several attempts" at attacks on French soil, French President Emmanuel Macron said on March 25.
Whoever doubts that Europe is in danger of an ominous divergence on Russia and Ukraine should take a look at the forced smiles of the “triple handshake” between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk when they met in Berlin last Friday, ostensibly
France is calling for a curb on Ukrainian agricultural imports, joining Poland in a push that could cost Kyiv 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in trade revenue, Politico reported on March 19.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in France this May, Politico reported on March 18. This would be the Chinese leader's first visit to Europe since the pandemic.
Moldova's Bureau of Reintegration said that the "military technique in the images has not been functional for several years" but did not clarify which "technique" it referred to.
"I will definitely come. I have a rule that my visit should be as useful as possible for Ukraine," French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published on March 16.
At the same time, Finland is not currently willing to send troops or even ready to discuss it, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said.
Key developments on March 15: * Russian missile strike kills 20, injures 73 in Odesa, first responders among victims * Scholz, Macron, Tusk vow more arms purchases, new initiatives for Ukraine * Russia recruits more foreign mercenaries to fight in war, Ukraine says * Syrskyi: Russia trying to break through in Avdiivka direction, Ukraine
The German and French leaders meet amid a growing rift in their public views on how to best help Kyiv repel Russian aggression.
French President Emmanuel Macron on March 14 again refused to rule out the potential presence of Western troops in Ukraine but stressed that the current situation does not call for it.
The French authorities have been examining the idea of whether to send "boots on the ground" into Ukraine since June 2023 "in the greatest secrecy," Le Monde reported on March 14.
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