Britain has pledged further large-scale military support to Ukraine, which will include armed drones with a range of more than 200 kilometers. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday ahead of a surprise visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Britain that in the coming months, London would provide more "hundreds of attack drones" and anti-aircraft missiles after pledging to deliver medium-range cruise missiles to Kyiv.
Johannes Leithäuser
Political correspondent for the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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Michaela Wiegel
Political correspondent based in Paris.
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Sunak said he would meet Zelensky for talks at the Chequers estate northwest of London. The rural location of the meeting was apparently chosen for security reasons. Sunak said ahead of the meeting on the situation in Ukraine, "we must not abandon them. The front line of Putin's war of aggression may be in Ukraine, but the fault lines run all over the world." It is in the interest of all of us to ensure that Ukraine succeeds and that the barbarism of Russian President Vladimir Putin is not rewarded.
The British government said that in addition to the aforementioned equipment with equipment, military support would also include the training of soldiers, economic aid and the continuation of effective sanctions against Russia. Last year, 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers were trained by Great Britain to combat readiness. The training of Ukrainian pilots will continue in order to bring them up to the "NATO standard".
French Mirage aircraft not "at this time"
On Sunday evening, President Zelensky landed at Villacoublay military airport on board a French presidential plane and was received by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. At a more than three-hour dinner between Zelensky and President Emmanuel Macron, the focus was on "operational military planning," as Macron announced. France wants to step up its support for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, it said.
However, the deployment of Mirage-type fighter jets, as Zelensky has repeatedly called for, is opposed in Paris "at this time." The newspaper "Le Figaro" had recently reported that the training of Ukrainian pilots on Mirage fighter jets at the air bases in Nancy and Mont-de-Marsan had already begun. This was agreed during Zelensky's previous visit to Paris in February. 13 Mirage 2000-C fighter jets have recently been retired by the French Air Force and could be delivered to Ukraine.
France credits its role in tank deliveries
Unlike the UK, France has not supplied Storm Shadow missiles (the French model is called Scalp) to Ukraine. The Franco-Italian SAMP/T Mamba air defence system, which is comparable to the German IRIS-T system, had already been promised to Ukraine at the beginning of the year. It still hasn't arrived.
Macron reiterated in a tweet on Monday morning that France would support Ukraine "for as long as necessary" to defend itself against the Russian attack. In the coming weeks, "several Ukrainian battalions will be trained and equipped." It is planned to send more AMX-10 light tanks.
France takes credit for having persuaded its allies to provide Ukraine with Western main battle tank models with the decision on the AMX-10. At the Elysée Palace, it was emphasized how close the relationship of trust between Macron and Zelensky is. There was no mention of coordination with the federal government.
Macron also wants to receive Tesla CEO Elon Musk this Monday and deliver him a message from Zelensky, according to the Elysée. Musk is the owner of the space company SpaceX, whose Starlink satellite network can provide satellite-based internet worldwide, which is of great importance for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Macron also said France supports the investigations of the International Criminal Court and will provide investigators with further resources. It is important that the perpetrators of war crimes must answer to the international criminal justice system. France has sent two mobile laboratory units for DNA samples to Ukraine. Macron spoke out in favour of the establishment of an "ad hoc court" specifically responsible for the attack on Ukraine.
The Elysée Palace is also said to have discussed China's role in peace negotiations. Macron counts it to the fact that President Xi Jinping called President Zelensky after his courtship during his state visit to China. Zelensky had exchanged views on this afterwards in a telephone conversation with Macron. According to the Elysée, Macron and Zelensky spoke about the Ukrainian peace plan, "which pursues several important goals that France is already working on". France wants to organize as many participants as possible for a "World Summit for Peace".