The head of French diplomacy arrived in Odessa, in the south-west of Ukraine, on Thursday to show support from Paris when the city was hit by a new salvo of Russian missiles.
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“
To Odessa!
To mark France's support for Ukraine's sovereignty, today as yesterday
," Catherine Colonna tweeted, as two key energy sites in the region were damaged by strikes.
Fourth visit since the start of the war
"
Thank you for your courageous visit
" replied on the same channel his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba, deeming French support "
crucial
" as the first anniversary of the invasion of the country by Russia approaches.
The French minister had stopped in Moldova on Wednesday evening before going to the port city on Thursday.
His arrival was delayed due to the new salvo of Russian missiles which killed at least one person and caused power outages.
The two ministers will notably “ take
stock of the immediate and urgent needs of the Ukrainians in military and civilian matters
”, indicated a diplomatic source.
It is a question of supplying the Ukrainians with materials which are "
consistent with their needs
", she specified, adding that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had "
not expressed a need for (French) Leclerc tanks
" for “
obvious
” reasons, namely logistics, maintenance and inventory issues.
"
For any army, having 10 different types of tanks in its forces creates a logistical equation that is almost insoluble
," said this source, insisting that the Ukrainians "
wanted from the start
» Leopard 2 tanks that Germany finally promised on Wednesday to deliver to Ukraine.
This is Catherine Colonna's fourth visit to the country since the outbreak of war by Russia on February 24, 2022.
Read alsoUkrainian War: why kyiv is asking for Leopard 2 tanks
The visit to Odessa is highly symbolic as the historic center of the famous city on the shores of the Black Sea was inscribed on UNESCO's list of world heritage in danger on Wednesday, due to the "
threats of destruction
" hovering over it .
site.
Odessa is also "
the gateway to the even greater destabilization of Moldova, Romania, and the European territory as a whole
" which must therefore be absolutely protected, explained the diplomatic source.
Catherine Colonna was also to visit a center for refugees from Kherson (south), where a number of NGOs supported financially by the ministry operate, the source also indicated.