The new Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna is visiting kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday to "show France's solidarity with the Ukrainian people (...) in the face of the aggression Russian," the Quai d'Orsay said on Monday.
She is the highest-ranking French official to visit Ukraine since the Russian attack began on February 24.
During her trip, the boss of the Quai d'Orsay will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who went to the front on Sunday in the Kharkiv region, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, "to discuss in particular the blockage of grain and oilseed exports from Ukraine which raises real risks of food insecurity,” the statement said.
In #Ukraine, to mark France's support 🇫🇷 for the Ukrainian people 🇺🇦.
pic.twitter.com/jq66q20p3d
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) May 30, 2022
She will also go to Boutcha, a town on the outskirts of kyiv where massacres of civilians attributed to Russian troops took place, to hand over "civil security equipment (fire trucks and ambulances)" to the authorities.
Ms. Colonna had reserved Germany for her first visit abroad last Tuesday, stressing that "none of the G7 countries (was) at war with Russia" but called for "further strengthening our support for Ukraine in the long term, on all levels”.
During her joint press conference with her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin, Catherine Colonna also mentioned Emmanuel Macron's idea of a "European political community", likely to welcome Ukraine or Great Britain.
This Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to address European leaders gathered in Brussels for an extraordinary summit devoted to his country.