It’s a surprise European tour. Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in the morning this Thursday, February 9 in Brussels as guest of honor at the summit of the Twenty-Seven, where he should plead for his allies to deliver combat planes to him “as soon as possible”, as he has made the day before in London and Paris. Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky will fly together from Paris to this summit of EU heads of state and government, the Elysée announced. The two leaders will leave Villacoublay, near Paris, around 8:30 a.m. They are expected at 10 a.m. in Brussels.
“It is a strong signal that the Ukrainian President is personally participating in this first meeting of the year of EU Heads of State and Government, a signal of European solidarity,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. . For Volodymyr Zelensky, this is only the second trip abroad since Russia’s outbreak of war on February 24, 2022, after his trip to the United States in December.
Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Wednesday evening in Paris that his allies deliver fighter planes to him “as soon as possible” to repel Russia. As the first anniversary of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, which transformed him into a warlord, approaches, the Ukrainian leader was welcomed at the Elysée by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who also had invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a late dinner.
The moment is crucial for Ukraine, which is worried about the recent successes of the Russian army in the Donbass and fears a major offensive in the coming weeks. “We have very little time,” insisted the Ukrainian president at the Elysée. “The sooner Ukraine gets long-range heavy weaponry, the sooner our pilots get planes, the sooner this Russian aggression will end and we could return to peace in Europe,” he added.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, assured his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday evening in Paris of his “determination” to “accompany” Ukraine “towards victory” and of his desire to continue French arms deliveries to Ukraine. “We stand with Ukraine. Firmly. And with the determination to accompany it to victory and the restoration of its legitimate rights,” he said. “We will continue the effort” in terms of deliveries of defense means,” he added.
In front of the press, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz temporized on the question of planes, a new stage in support for kyiv to which British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had, earlier in the day in London, seemed to pave the way with caution.
The chancellor confined himself to assuring him that the allies would support his country, in particular militarily, “as long as necessary”.
The Parisian dinner contrasted with the pomp of the British visit earlier on Wednesday, when Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Parliament assembled in London. The Ukrainian president addressed Westminster Hall, which hosted rare foreign leaders such as Frenchman Charles de Gaulle in 1960, but also the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
“We know that freedom will win, we know that Russia will lose,” insisted the Ukrainian leader in London. “I ask you and the world for simple but very important words: fighter jets for Ukraine, wings for freedom”, he said, before concluding with thanks “for delicious English tea” and “in advance for the mighty British planes”.
British Challenger tanks promised by London to kyiv will be operational “next month” in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told a press conference. “Ukrainian teams that arrived last week (to train in the UK) will use Challenger 2 tanks to defend Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty next month,” Rishi Sunak said next to Volodymyr Zelensky in the southwest from England, confirming the timetable given in January by the government, which had mentioned deliveries at the end of March.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed on Wednesday that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, sometimes accused of not being at the forefront of support for Ukraine, had “changed”, and considered that confidence was “real today “, in a daily maintenance Le Figaro.
“I believe he has changed. And he has changed for real this time,” said the Ukrainian head of state. “After all, he was the one who opened the door to tank deliveries. He also supported Ukraine’s candidacy for the EU. I think that was a real signal,” added the Ukrainian president. “We had a lot of conversations with France, Germany and the other countries. I believe that the confidence is real today,” he said.
The French president has been criticized in Ukraine and Eastern European countries for repeatedly saying that “Russia should not be humiliated” and for having spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on dozens of occasions since the beginning of the Russian invasion almost a year ago. Paris had also been accused of dragging its feet on arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky also estimated on Wednesday in this interview with Le Figaro that if the Russians took Bakhmout, a city in the east that has been the scene of bloody fighting for more than six months, they would have an “advantage” and would like to “go further”. “Of course, from a strategic point of view, Bakhmout does not matter much because the Russians have completely destroyed the city with their artillery. But if they take Bakhmout, they will want to go further. This will give them a advantage,” he said, adding, “the question is what happens after Bakhmout?” “We have to hold out in time to receive weapons,” said the Ukrainian president.
Bakhmout, a city of some 70,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion, is one of the hot spots on the eastern front, and the belligerents have been fighting a devastating and deadly battle there since the summer. It was almost destroyed and the few thousand of its inhabitants who remained there survived, holed up in cellars. The Battle of Bakhmout has taken on a symbolic dimension, in particular because mercenaries from the private Russian group Wagner are fighting there and their boss Yevgueni Prigojine would like to offer a victory to Russia, which had to retreat after a counter-offensive. Ukrainian in the east in the fall.
The White House on Wednesday categorically denied being behind the spectacular sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in September, rejecting accusations by a US investigative journalist. In an article published on his own blog, Seymour Hersh writes that US Navy divers, aided by Norway, planted explosives on these gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea in June, setting them off three months later.
This information is “totally false” and is “pure fiction”, retorted Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council of the White House. Same echo at the CIA, where a spokesperson assured that the article was “absolutely false”. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also denied his country’s involvement, deeming the allegations “false”. Western countries had accused Russia of being responsible for these impressive leaks preceded by underwater explosions.
