Politico: Macron puts the final touches on a security agreement during his visit to Ukraine

Paris – French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that he intends to sign a bilateral security agreement with Kiev during a visit to Ukraine next month.

Macron said that France “will continue to help Ukraine maintain the front line and protect its skies,” and that the two countries are “finalizing an agreement.” Speaking at a press conference in Paris, Macron also announced the delivery of 40 long-range Scalp missiles and “several hundred” bombs to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

France has been working for several months on reaching an agreement aimed at supporting Ukraine's defenses and financial resources in the long term. Macron's statement comes on the heels of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's visit to Kiev last week, during which he signed a bilateral security agreement and pledged €3 billion in military aid to Ukraine over the next two years.

European partners are under pressure to increase their military support for Ukraine as Russia continues its air strikes, and US aid appears to be at a standstill in Congress.

Earlier this month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued an unusually tough call for other EU countries to provide more weapons to Ukraine. He added that planned arms shipments so far were “very small”, despite Berlin's pledge to double its military aid to Kiev. 8 billion euros this year.

According to the Kiel Institute which He talked about military aid to Ukraine In the public sphere, Germany was the second largest donor last year after the United States, with €17.1 billion, followed by the United Kingdom with €6.6 billion, then the Nordic and Eastern European countries. In comparison, France contributed only €0.54 billion, Italy €0.69 billion, and Spain €0.34 billion.

Macron also said that France and Europe would have to make “new decisions in the coming weeks and months,” likely referring to talks in Brussels to resolve the dispute over a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine.