France pledges $3.2 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine

By Nur Asena Erturk

France and Ukraine have signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Friday.

The agreement will remain valid unless Ukraine joins NATO, Macron told a joint news conference in Paris with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"In the framework of this agreement, France committed to an additional military aid up to €3 billion ($3.23 billion) in 2024," Macron said.

He noted that Paris already provided Ukraine with military aid worth €1.7 billion in 2022 and €2.1 billion in 2023, and vowed long-term support for Kyiv, including civilian assistance.

Zelenskyy, for his part, thanked France for its support and described the agreement as ambitious and concrete.

"Ukraine will join the EU, and, I hope, NATO, too," Macron also said.

Urging the international, and Europe in particular, to a "collective burst" against Moscow's efforts to "destabilize" the world, the French leader said France "is not at war against Russia."

Macron said Russia has intensified cyberattacks and disinformation activities.

He also expressed concern over its alleged plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space, and said Moscow must "justify (itself) without delay."

Macron also said he would visit Ukraine by mid-March.

- Alexey Navalny's death

On reports of the death of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Macron blamed the Kremlin and said the incident was a show of its "weakness."

Macron also demanded that Russia clarify the circumstances of Navalny's death.

Zelenskyy, for his part, urged "all the leaders of the world" not to remain silent against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian penitentiary service said earlier that Navalny, 47, died in a prison colony while serving his sentence. The service said in a statement that Navalny lost consciousness after a walk in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where the prison is located.