Ukrainian foreign minister tells his French counterpart about Ukraine's urgent needs

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has spoken with his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, discussing, among other things, the situation in the Black Sea and Ukraine's urgent needs.

Source: Sybiha on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sybiha briefed Barrot on the situation in the Black Sea as "Russia is deliberately escalating attacks on ports and maritime routes at the peak of the harvest season, threatening Ukraine's economy, freedom of navigation, and global food security."

The sides discussed how they could work on practical steps to keep sea routes open and safe.

They also discussed Ukraine's urgent air defence needs, including additional interceptors to counter the ballistic threat from Russia.

"We also focused on energy resilience and preparations for the coming winter. Russia will continue trying to weaponise winter and target our energy infrastructure," Sybiha said.

He stressed that "pressure on Russia must become more systematic and predictable", and that every large-scale Russian attack "should be followed by a sanctions response".

Quote: "We need anti-ballistic sanctions targeting the entire ecosystem behind Russia's missile and drone production, as well as renewed international action on frozen Russian assets so that Russian money can serve Ukraine's defence and help bring this war to an end sooner."

Details: The sides also coordinated their positions on ongoing peace efforts and the important role of a united Europe in advancing them.

In addition, Sybiha thanked France for its leadership within the Coalition of the Willing and for co-chairing the summit in Kyiv with the UK and Germany on 24 August, marking Ukraine's Independence Day.

Background:

• French President Emmanuel Macron recently said his country will increase its support and send interceptor missiles to Ukraine.
• Speaking at the Coalition of the Willing summit, Macron stressed the need to prevent oil, gas and diesel fuel from being supplied to Russia through third countries.

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