Welcome support while the Ukrainian army is struggling on the front.
Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Paris on Friday to sign a security agreement with Emmanuel Macron, after having done the same in Berlin.
His European tour was, however, overshadowed by the announcement of the death in prison of Alexeï Navalny, number one opponent of Vladimir Putin, who already rules Russia with an iron fist, exacerbating tensions with the West and extinguishing a little more hope of opening in Moscow.
The master of the Kremlin will have to “be held accountable for his crimes,” accused Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia condemns “free spirits” to death by putting them in the “gulag”, launched Emmanuel Macron.
He “paid for his courage with his life,” added German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Financial commitments
The Ukrainian president, visiting his European allies as his country prepares to enter its third year of war against Russia on February 24, arrived late in the afternoon at Paris airport in Orly from Berlin.
He immediately headed to the Élysée where he was expected at 6:45 p.m. to take an overview with his French counterpart of the situation on the front and the needs of Ukraine, before signing the bilateral agreement.
Also read: What is the bilateral security agreement that Zelensky and Macron will sign on Friday?
This text, “concluded for a period of ten years”, “includes precise commitments, including financial” in the military and civil fields, according to the French presidency.
It provides for a strengthening of “cooperation in the field of artillery”, she adds without specifying figures.
“The support provided to Ukraine must in particular help it in the process of integration into the European Union and NATO,” it is estimated in Paris.
Berlin “will not relax its support”
Olaf Scholz and Volodymyr Zelensky also signed a security agreement described as “historic” by the German Chancellor who assured his determination to support Ukraine “as long as necessary” against the Russian aggressor.
“Two years after the start of this terrible war, today we are sending a very clear message to the Russian president: we will not relax our support for Ukraine,” warned the German leader.
Illustration of this commitment: the signed document contains additional and immediate military aid amounting to 1.1 billion euros.
He also plans to support Ukraine after the war to build a modern army capable of repelling possible future attacks from Russia.