In Paris and Berlin, Volodymyr Zelensky received unprecedented military support in the war against Russia.

A brief embrace in the courtyard of the Elysée before a promise of long-term support against the Russian occupier. Almost two years after the invasion of his country, Volodymyr Zelensky was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron late on the afternoon of Friday, February 16. During the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023, Paris signed the bilateral defense agreement after more than an hour of talks on the bilateral defense agreement committed to Kiev.

Incidentally, the French head of state has hardened his tone more than ever “Kremlin Rule”Responsible for death in prison of adversary Alexei Navalny: “Today, Vladimir Putin's Russia has become a legitimate actor in world destabilization.”He said, the Ukrainian president should pledge to support his country as long as necessary: Together with you we are determined to defeat Russia.Emmanuel Macron reiterated.

At the heart of the ten-year-old security agreement in favor of Ukraine, after long negotiations, the French president seized the moment to pledge an unprecedented level of support: up to 3 billion euros of military support is planned for 2024. The Élysée's tenant is seeking to respond to demands from his Ukrainian partner, who welcomed the deal but also charges of leniency from some of his European partners who criticize France for not doing enough to arm Ukraine.

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In defense, Paris says it has already committed a total of 3.8 billion euros in military aid to Kiev in 2022 and 2023, far higher than analysts' estimates, but is difficult to verify. , no details. Given on the basis of nature of expenses. The Elysée has until now refused to provide such an assessment in order to avoid provoking Russia and providing it with operational information.

Is this wisdom really obsolete? A document released earlier by the President states that France has so far delivered 30 Caesar artillery and 4 units of rocket launchers (LRU) to Ukraine, but 38 AMX-10 RC armored reconnaissance vehicles, 250 armored VAB troop transports, 17 Milan anti-tank firing posts, 5 Mistral anti-aircraft firing posts, two Crowdale ground-to-air batteries, not to mention “one hundred” Scalp cruise missiles.

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