"This (war) cannot continue; it must stop. To achieve this, in coordination with American senators, Europe is preparing to introduce, based on French proposals, the toughest sanctions we have imposed in the last three years," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
BlackRock, a U.S. investment firm, suspended work on its multibillion-dollar Ukraine recovery fund following U.S. President Donald Trump's election victory, prompting France to work on a replacement, Bloomberg reported on July 5.
"On the agenda, there's how to maintain Ukraine in a capacity to fight, how to increase pressure on Russia, and how to continue the work on the next steps," an unnamed French official told Politico.
The conversation between the two leaders took place as the Russian army continues to advance along the front line, trying to gain a foothold in Sumy Oblast and enter Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The European Union and its allies are ready to toughen sanctions on Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit on June 17.
The group, made up of students and teachers from Chernivtsi Oblast, was returning from an academic exchange when their bus veered off the road in the Sarthe department of France on June 13.
Three Ukrainian nationals were killed in a bus accident in France on June 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a statement on Telegram. The accident occurred in northwestern France as a group of Ukrainian adults and children was returning from an educational exchange.
Renault will partner with a small French defense company to equip production lines on Ukrainian territory, with the drones expected to serve both Ukrainian and French military forces, according to France Info.
"We are going to embark on a completely unprecedented partnership where a large French car company – I won't name it because it's up to them to announce it – will join forces with a French defense SME (small to medium-sized enterprise) to equip production lines in Ukraine to be able to produce drones," French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.
Russia's energy exports remain a major source of revenue for the Kremlin's military campaign against Ukraine.
According to the Telegraph, senior European diplomats meeting in The Hague agreed to shift their focus from deploying troops to enforce a ceasefire to preparing long-term strategies for supporting Ukraine without American backing.
Security advisors from the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany will attend planned peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on June 2, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said
Durov, a Russian-born founder of the Telegram messaging app who also holds French citizenship, claimed that a "Western European government" requested the company to "silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today's presidential elections."
Presidential Office Chief Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with French, German, U.K., and the U.S. officials in Istanbul on May 16, Suspilne reported, citing sources in the Ukrainian delegation.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
"An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on May 11.
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
The visit marks Merz’s first trip to Ukraine, and the first time all four leaders have travelled there together.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21.
In a boon for Kyiv's offensive capabilities, France has announced it will manufacture 1,200 AASM Hammer bombs for Ukraine in 2025. Glide bombs have become an integral part of both Russia and Ukraine's arsenals, allowing the delivery of powerful payloads for relatively little cost. The AASM Hammer is one
The French-made precision bombs are being transferred to Kyiv as part of ongoing defense support, and their use by Ukrainian fighter jets has grown significantly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
"Vladimir Putin's Russia has made no effort, has sent no sign that it is ready for the ceasefire or the peace that President Donald Trump aspires to, and that the Europeans and, of course, the Ukrainians aspire to," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised France’s leadership in building support for a peace agreement, but stressed that European partners must “step up with real resources and political will” if they hope to bring the war to an end.
Donald Trump was told Putin was "disrespecting him by consistently breaking the ceasefire he claimed to be implementing," one source told Politico.
European nations would struggle to deploy even 25,000 troops to Ukraine as part of a proposed multinational “deterrence” force, far short of the 64,000-strong target suggested by U.K. defense officials, the Times reported on April 30 citing undisclosed European defense sources.
France has brought charges against the GRU's APT28 unit, based in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia.
"At today's Security Council meeting, we urge members to express their strong support for Ukraine's steps toward peace, clearly condemn Russia's escalated terror against civilians, and take a principled stance on the need to put more pressure on Moscow," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
"In the next eight to ten days, we will increase pressure on Russia. I remain cautious (of a ceasefire) because part of the equation depends on Moscow," French President Emmanuel Macron said.
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