France steps up weapons supply to Ukraine in support of counteroffensive in Russia-occupied territories

The Western countries are intensifying the supply of military aid to Ukraine to help the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

French President Emmanuel Macron stated this at yesterday's press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda. 

He said that the Ukrainian offensive "began a few days ago," Bloomberg reports. The French leader hopes that Ukraine's successful counteroffensive will lead to negotiations.

"The Ukrainian counteroffensive began several days ago. This offensive will be carried out over several days or several months," he said. "We hope it is as victorious as possible to be able to then launch a phase of negotiations in good conditions, but our support will last as long as necessary."

The leaders of Germany, Poland, and France met on June 12 in the format of the Weimar Triangle to discuss the coordination of military aid to Kyiv, long-term security guarantees to ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the upcoming summit of the NATO alliance in Vilnius.

According to the Ukraine Support Tracker of the Kiel Institute of World Economy:

• Poland provided aid worth €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion), or 0.63% of the gross domestic product,
• Germany – €7.3 billion, or 0.2% of GDP,
• France – €1.5 billion, or 0.06% of GDP.

"We have intensified deliveries of weapons and munitions, armed vehicles, and logistics support," Macron said, adding that he spoke by phone with the Ukrainian president a few days ago.

Background

The French president has publicly supported negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian occupiers. At the end of May, Macron said peace talks with Putin are more important than punishing him for war crimes in The Hague. 

The French leader believes that arresting Putin for war crimes may be impossible if he is the only person with whom the West negotiates an end to the war in Ukraine.

The White House also confirmed the beginning of Ukraine's counteroffensive operations, so Washington is preparing a new military aid.

The Biden administration will "very, very soon" announce the next military aid package to Ukraine. The funds will be allocated from the Pentagon's reserves under the authority of President Joe Biden.