France pledged €2 billion in military aid to Ukraine as European leaders met in Paris to discuss strengthening Kyiv’s defense and potential roles in future peace talks. The summit, led by Macron and Starmer, focuses on military support, ceasefire monitoring, and Europe’s strategic involvement.
France pledged 2 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine as some 30 leaders met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on Thursday to discuss how to strengthen Kyiv's position and assess how they could play a role if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
The third summit of what France and Britain have called the "coalition of the willing" brings together the likes of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz.
It is taking place after Zelenskyy agreed earlier this month to proceed with ceasefire talks to ensure a resumption of U.S. aid and intelligence sharing. But Russia has placed additional demands on implementation of a ceasefire deal in the Black Sea and on energy targets, and many European nations believe a peace accord remains distant.
"First and foremost (we will discuss) the immediate support for Ukraine. It must go on because it is necessary to continue the resistance," President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Wednesday evening at a press conference with Zelenskyy.
Macron committed to a further 2 billion euros in French military support, including missiles, warplanes and air defence equipment. Zelenskyy said other partners could announce aid packages on Thursday.
The format aims to forge a role for Europe in any talks on ending the conflict. While the United States is not present, French officials say the outcome of the summit will be shared with the U.S. administration.
The discussions will focus on how to strengthen Ukraine militarily to deter future attacks, and how to monitor the limited ceasefires over sea targets and energy infrastructure, as discussed at U.S.-led talks this week in Saudi Arabia.
European efforts, led by Macron and Starmer, to create security arrangements for Ukraine are shifting from sending troops to considering alternatives as they face political and logistical constraints, and the prospect of Russia and the United States opposing their plans, officials have told Reuters.
"The Prime Minister will underline that all must come together to support Ukraine to remain in the fight and back US efforts to make real progress despite continued Russian obfuscation," Starmer's office said in a statement.
Planning so far has looked at the full range of European military capabilities including aircraft, tanks, troops, intelligence and logistics. Discussions have centred on what European nations can contribute to support any future force, it said.
More than 200 health facilities in war-hit eastern Congo have run out of medicines due to widespread looting and supply chain disruptions during fight...
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected as “incorrect” the report by a Kuwaiti newspaper on recent contacts between Tehran and Washington ...
The 7th Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan has concluded in Russia with participants issuing a joint statement heavily hinting at a joint oppo...
Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges, and his lawyer said he would file a barrage of legal challenges t...
Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Bochorishvili sought to reassure the public that there is “no danger” to Georgia’s status as the European Uni...
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met on Tuesday with a delegation from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, marking the first visit to Ukraine by the group’s President, Pere Joan Pons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has alleged that Russian missiles and drones contain tens of thousands of components sourced from Western companies, calling for stricter sanctions to block these supply chains.
Ukraine’s military says it has carried out strikes on one of Russia’s main explosives factories and an oil terminal in occupied Crimea, escalating long-range attacks on key sites supporting Moscow’s war effort.
Ukraine's overnight shelling of the Russian region of Belgorod damaged power infrastructure, snapping electricity links to thousands of customers, the governor of the region bordering Ukraine said on Monday.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
Escalating gang violence in Haiti has displaced 680,000 children, nearly twice as many as last year, as armed groups seize more territory and basic services collapse, UNICEF warned on Wednesday.
A 29-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a devastating wildfire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles earlier this year.
The 7th Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan has concluded in Russia with participants issuing a joint statement heavily hinting at a joint opposition to any foreign military infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges, and his lawyer said he would file a barrage of legal challenges to the first prosecution by the Justice Department against one of President Donald Trump's political enemies.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to attend a ministerial meeting in Paris on Thursday with representatives of Europe, the Arab world and other nations to discuss Gaza's post-conflict transition, according to three diplomatic sources.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment