France’s support for Ukraine ‘will not waver’, Macron vows

PARIS (AFP): French President Emmanuel Macron warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin early Saturday not to “count on any fatigue from Europeans” over the war in Ukraine, pledging that France’s support for Kyiv “will not waver.”

“Battered and bruised, but still standing. Ukraine is fighting for itself, for its ideals, for our Europe. Our commitment at its side will not waver,” he wrote in a message on X marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, which falls on Saturday.

A separate statement from Macron’s office touted the European Union’s support for Kyiv, including accepting refugees, offering civil and military aid, and levelling sanctions on Moscow.

“President Putin’s Russia must not count on any fatigue from Europeans,” the statement said.

“France is also committed to continuing its support on all fronts, including the supply of military equipment, cooperation between defense industries through the development of co-productions, training, intelligence and civilian aid,” it added.

“The outcome of this war will be decisive for European interests, values and security.”

The French pledge of support came as other key Ukrainian allies renewed their commitment to assisting Kyiv.

US President Joe Biden on Friday announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia, while vowing sustained pressure to stop President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine.”

The sanctions, described as the largest single tranche since the start of the war, also seek to impose a cost for the death last week in a Siberian prison of Putin’s most vocal critic, Alexei Navalny.

Britain, meanwhile, announced Saturday a new £245 million ($311 million) defense package to help boost the production of “urgently needed artillery ammunition” for Ukraine, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisting in an earlier statement that “tyranny will never triumph.”