A brief hug in the courtyard of the Elysée, before the promise of long-term support against the Russian aggressor. Almost two years after the start of the invasion of his country, Volodymyr Zelensky was welcomed Friday February 16 at the end of the afternoon by Emmanuel Macron. After more than an hour of talks, both signed the bilateral security agreement promised by Paris to Kiev during the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023, in order to be able to repel the deadly assaults. Russian forces.
Incidentally, the French head of state has toughened his tone like never before against the “Kremlin regime”judged responsible for the death in prison of opponent Alexeï Navalny: “Today, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has become a methodical actor in the destabilization of the world”he said, to better promise the Ukrainian president to support his country for as long as necessary: “ We are determined to defeat Russia alongside you.”repeated Emmanuel Macron.
The French president took advantage of the moment to promise support on an unprecedented scale, included, after long negotiations, at the heart of the security agreement signed for ten years in favor of Ukraine: up to 3 billion euros of military support planned for 2024. The tenant of the Elysée is thus seeking to respond to the demands of his Ukrainian counterpart, who welcomed the agreement to him, but also to accusations of softness from some of his European partners, who criticize France for not doing enough to arm Ukraine.
Discretion
As a defense, Paris claims to have already devoted a total of 3.8 billion euros to military aid provided to Kiev in 2022 and 2023, a figure very significantly higher than estimates made by analysts but which remains difficult to verify. , no details having been given on the nature of the expenses. Until now, the Elysée had always refused to provide such an assessment, both so as not to provoke Russia but also to avoid giving it operational information.
Has this discretion really become obsolete? A document released a little earlier by the presidency specifies that France has so far delivered to Ukraine 30 Caesar cannons and 4 unit rocket launchers (LRU), but also 38 AMX-10 RC reconnaissance armored vehicles, 250 armored VAB troop transport, 17 Milan anti-tank firing posts, 5 Mistral anti-aircraft firing posts, two Crotale ground-to-air batteries, not forgetting ” one hundred “ of Scalp cruise missiles.
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