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Ukraine received US$ 1.5 billion in weapons and military equipment in recent months to strengthen its army amid tensions on the border with Russia, said on Monday the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba.
“We continue to build an international coalition in support of Ukraine. Thanks to this work, Ukraine today receives more political, economic and security,” said the minister at a press conference.
Kuleba stated that plans to discuss the issue of arms supplies today with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron.
He said he would speak to Baerbock about Germany’s opposition to accepting that non-NATO countries or organizations with German weapons send this equipment to Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities warned that such a refusal could harm bilateral relations with Germany, which sees such a stance as counterproductive from the point of view of military tension on the border with Russia.
Berlin claims that weapons cannot resolve a conflict, although it has expressed its willingness to block Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the event of aggression by that country.
The United States and the United Kingdom were the most active in sending weapons to the Ukrainian Army, as well as Canada, Poland and the Baltic countries, which received approval from Washington.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Berlin had promised 5. helmets, as well as field hospitals, but blocked Estonia’s shipment of weapons from the times of the A East Germany.
“Useful and collective response”
This Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron made an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a collective response to avoid a war in Europe, amid tension on the former Soviet republic’s border with Ukraine.
Early at the beginning of the meeting between the two heads of government, held in the Kremlin, Macron expressed confidence in “finding a useful and collective response to Russia and for the whole of Europe, which will make it possible to avoid war and forge stability and trust for all.”
“I believe that today’s conversation can indicate the path we should take, that of de-escalation”, indicated the French president.
Macron said he was aware of the “political-military” scenario in Europe and called for the responsibility of all those involved. vided with the current crisis.
“The critical situation in Europe, currently , worries us. Therefore, it is necessary that we all behave responsibly”, pointed out the head of government.
Putin, in turn, highlighted the efforts of the French government to resolve the crisis in Ukraine and to reach a security agreement for the region.
The two presidents held a press conference at the end of their dialogue. After leaving Moscow, Macron leaves for Kiev, where he will meet the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
In the morning, the Kremlin had admitted that the situation was too complex to expect “major advances” in today’s meeting between Putin and the President of France.