Emmanuel Macron condemns a “heinous act which endangers the populations”. After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, the President of the Republic indicated on Twitter that he had expressed his “solidarity with his people” to his Ukrainian counterpart. “We will send aid in the next few hours to meet the immediate needs,” he added, after a telephone interview with Volodymyr Zelensky.
I was able to tell President Zelensky of my solidarity with his people after the attack on the Kakhovka dam. France condemns this heinous act which endangers populations. We will send in the next few hours help to meet the immediate needs.
—Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 7, 2023
According to the Elysée, the crisis and support center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “will send very quickly a first convoy of about ten tons of products requested by the Ukrainians”, in terms of health, hygiene and sanitation, including a portable cistern.
On Twitter, the Ukrainian head of state had previously claimed to have mentioned the “environmental and humanitarian consequences of the Russian terrorist act” and underlined “the urgent needs of Ukraine to deal with the disaster” in the Kherson region.
I had a thorough phone call with the President of 🇫🇷 France @EmmanuelMacron. Thanked him for the opportunity to participate in the Summit of the European Political Community and for support at the UN Security Council. Spoke about the current situation in Kherson region, the…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 7, 2023
Moscow and kyiv blame each other for the destruction of this dam located on the Dnieper river, at the limit between the positions of the two camps. Towns and villages located both on the bank under Ukrainian control and that under Russian occupation were flooded.
Kyiv hopes for rapid training of pilots
Zelensky said he also agreed with Emmanuel Macron to “continue cooperation in defense matters”, in particular for the anti-aircraft defense of Ukrainian cities. “We hope that the training of Ukrainian pilots will start as soon as possible,” he added, as France has promised “basic” training without prejudging the type of devices that could be delivered and used by kyiv.
The Ukrainian president also thanked his French counterpart for his “support” to the UN Security Council and discussed “formats of security guarantees for Ukraine” ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius scheduled for July.
In this regard, Paris reaffirmed that the objective was to “decisively advance not only on the ground”, thanks to the counter-offensive expected from Kiev, “but also to consolidate the chances of a lasting peace “.