French foreign minister visits Kyiv, pledges support

KYIV/MOSCOW — France's newly appointed Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday on his first official visit abroad, vowing that Paris would maintain its support.

Sejourne's visit came a day after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a fresh package of military help for Kyiv, as Ukraine waits to see if Brussels and Washington will unlock massive sums of new aid.

"Despite the multiplying crises, Ukraine is and will remain France's priority," Sejourne told Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a joint news conference on Saturday.

Later, he held talks with Zelensky that lasted for about an hour, Agence France-Presse reported.

"I appreciate France's unwavering defense support for our soldiers and assistance to our people," Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The visit comes at a crucial time for Ukraine with allies struggling to secure funding while some worry that Kyiv could be forgotten amid new conflicts in the Middle East, Agence France-Presse reported.

Major blocks of funding, in Brussels and in Washington, have also been tied up for political reasons.

The European Union is due to hold a meeting on Feb 1 to unblock an aid package of 50 billion euros ($54.8 billion) for Ukraine.

Congress divided

With the EU package stalled and the US Congress still divided over sending additional aid to Ukraine, Kyiv is feeling the pressure.

Aid promised to Ukraine between August and October 2023 fell almost 90 percent from the same period in 2022, reaching its lowest point since the start of the conflict, according to a survey by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have warned that any delay would seriously affect the course of the conflict.

On the battlefield, Russia on Saturday said it destroyed all targets in a barrage of strikes on facilities producing ammunition and drones in Ukraine. "This morning the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a group strike … against facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex," the defense ministry said in a daily briefing.

It said it was targeting places producing shells, gunpowder and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ukraine earlier said it logged 40 drones and missiles launched from Russia, with eight missiles destroyed and "more than 20 devices" disabled by electronic warfare.

Agencies via Xinhua