This is his fourth visit since the start of the Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be on an official trip to France this Friday, June 7, the day after the Normandy Landing commemorations, to which he was invited.
The visit program includes several important stages: a traditional reception at the Hôtel des Invalides, a speech to the National Assembly, a meeting with defense industrialists – which notably includes a visit to a site of the group of Franco-German KNDS armament in Versailles – and a series of strategic discussions at the Quai d’Orsay. Finally, a reception at the end of the afternoon at the Elysée with French President Emmanuel Macron, which will be followed by a press conference and the signing of two agreements, with 650 million euros in loans at stake. and donations in Kiev.
Supporting Ukrainian local authorities
According to the French presidency, the first agreement should make it possible to provide the French Development Agency (AFD) with “provisional funds of 400 million euros in loans and 50 million in donations until 2027” in order “to expand its activities in Ukraine.
This will allow AFD to “deploy its entire range of instruments […] to intervene in support of Ukrainian local authorities, in coordination and complementarity with donors already present in Ukraine”, explained the Elysée. The priority areas of intervention will be the energy and transport sectors with support “for development of administrative capacities.
A “support fund” for critical infrastructure
The second agreement will concern the establishment of a “support fund” for critical infrastructures, endowed with 200 million euros “to support French companies in future calls for tenders […] in the areas of energy, transport, water and sanitation, health and agriculture.
“These funds will be used to finance important projects, to strengthen or supplement failing energy infrastructures” because they are particularly targeted by Moscow, it was emphasized.
The question of French instructors in Ukraine
During this bilateral meeting, Emmanuel Macron could discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart the sensitive issue of sending French military instructors. During a conference in support of Ukraine held at the Elysée on February 26, the French head of state announced measures to provide more weapons to kyiv and did not exclude sending soldiers to Ukraine, sparking controversy among its allies as well as anger in Russia.
He promised new announcements on the occasion of Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Paris on Friday. The project for a European coalition of instructors to train Ukrainian troops in Ukraine, desired by France, is being discussed among Europeans but appears far from being finalized, with many countries wondering about the risk of Russian reprisals. Russia, which claims constant advances in recent weeks in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, said on Tuesday that it could not rule out that its forces could strike French instructors on Ukrainian soil.