France allocates 1.2 billion euros in aid to stabilize the Ukrainian economy
Photo: From open sources
France has provided Ukraine with 1.2 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to stabilize the Ukrainian economy.
The presidents of Ukraine and France, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron, announced this at a joint press conference.
"We're already doing well, but this is a powerful step for Ukraine's economic sustainability," Zelenskyy commented on the allocation.
Macron noted that economic relations with Ukraine and assistance to its infrastructure projects were important for France.
Ukraine and France also agreed to supply 130 Alstom locomotives worth 900 million euros to Ukraine, as well as 370 units of Desautel firefighting equipment worth 300 million euros.
Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kyiv on February 8 for talks with Zelenskyy amid a growing Russian threat. The day before, Macron held talks with Putin. According to the French President, the coming days will be crucial for the de-escalation of the situation around Ukraine.
Note
To recap, Zelenskyy met with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson on February 1. Johnson then announced more than £2 billion in joint energy and infrastructure projects and £88m in support of Ukraine's governance and energy independence.
Russia now demands that NATO never expand eastward again, in particular Ukraine. The United States and the Alliance have already responded and disagreed. At the same time, before the talks, Moscow began to withdraw its troops to the border with Ukraine and prepare for military exercises in Belarus.
Ukrainian intelligence says that Russia is preparing for a possible attack on the east and south of Ukraine in January-February 2022. US spies (according to a possible scenario shared by Bloomberg) believe that the offensive on Ukraine could take place in three directions: from the occupied Crimea, Belarus, and from the Russian border.
The Ministry of Defense currently estimates that a total of 140,000 Russian servicemen are stationed near the borders of Ukraine on the part of Russia, Belarus, and the occupied part of Donbas.
