Status: 02/09/2023 00:24
During a visit to Paris, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy again called for the delivery of fighter jets and heavy weapons. President Macron and Chancellor Scholz assured him of their support at the meeting, without being specific.
During surprise visits to London and Paris, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the West for more weapons, including fighter jets.
At a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron late in the evening in Paris, he said: “It’s about weapons that are necessary for peace. The war that Russia has unleashed must be stopped.” Selenskyj had previously been in Britain courted for fighter jets.
Support: Yes – but which ones?
Scholz promised support as long as necessary. “The fact remains: Russia must not win this war,” said the Chancellor. In addition, he assured before an EU summit in Brussels, to which Zelenskyj is expected as a guest: “Ukraine is part of the European family.” Macron promised “support until victory”. The two did not respond to the demands for fighter jets in brief statements before the start of the meeting in the Elysée Palace.
Zelenskyj had previously said in London that his country’s army needed fighter jets in particular to win the defensive battle against Russia. In Paris he added: “Emmanuel, the sooner our pilots get modern planes, and Olaf, the stronger our armored coalition gets, the quicker this aggression by Russia will end. And we’re bringing back a secure peace to Europe.”
Ukraine was declared a candidate for accession by the EU last year – shortly after Scholz and Macron were in Kyiv together. The meeting in Paris was now the second face-to-face meeting of the three.