Macron to receive Zelensky in Paris ahead of Berlin visit

French President Emmanuel Macron will receive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris on Thursday, before Zelensky travels to Berlin on Friday to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

This was announced by the Élysée Palace on Wednesday evening.

Zelensky's separate trips to Paris and Berlin come after a major Ukraine solidarity summit at Ramstein air base in Germany, which was originally planned for Saturday, was cancelled.

In Paris, Zelensky is likely to be seeking further military support to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's war of aggression.

As recently as Wednesday, France had promised to deliver Mirage fighter jets in the first quarter of 2025. Training for Ukrainian pilots and mechanics for the aircraft is already under way in France.

France supplies Ukraine with fighter jets, trains brigade

On Wednesday, Macron also visited Ukrainian soldiers in eastern France who are being trained there by French military personnel for a new Ukrainian brigade.

The soldiers are trained with French weapons and vehicles.

In addition to the delivery of further weapons, the Ukrainian president is also demanding that the western allies allow him to use long-range weapons against targets on Russian territory.

Since July 2023, France, in close alliance with Britain, has begun supplying Ukraine with Scalp missiles (known in Britain as Storm Shadow).

However, the range of the Scalp missiles supplied by France to Ukraine is limited to 250 kilometres, which limits their use against targets in Russia.