live blog
France wants to support Ukraine with more armored vehicles. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy thanked Germany and France for their support after a meeting with French President Macron. All events in the live blog.
According to the Washington Post, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has offered to reveal the positions of Russian troops to the Ukrainian government. However, Ukraine rejected the offer.
The report is based on secret US documents that, according to the Washington Post, were leaked to the Discord chat platform. The US President’s Office initially did not respond to a request for comment.
According to insiders, the heads of state and government of the seven leading industrial nations G7 plan to tighten measures against Russia at their summit in Japan this week. These are aimed at circumventing sanctions imposed by third countries and intended to undermine Russia’s future energy production and trade, Reuters news agency learned. US officials believe G7 members could issue a blanket ban on exports of goods to Russia unless specifically exempted. This would be a reversal of the previous sanctions concept, according to which the sale of all goods to Russia is permitted if they are not on the black list.
Following talks with French President Macron, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy thanked Germany and France for their military support. “I thank Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the German people for the strong defense package, for their leadership role in defending human lives against Russian terror together with us,” Zelenskyj wrote on Twitter. French President Macron and He is grateful to the entire French people “for the military support of our fighters, which helps in the fight against Russian terrorists. Together we bring peace closer to all Ukrainians and Europeans,” he continued.
France has promised Ukraine new military support. New shipments are being prepared to address the most pressing and immediate needs to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, said a joint statement by France and Ukraine. More armored vehicles and light tanks, including the AMX-10RC, are promised. The vehicles should be delivered in the coming weeks,
France’s head of state Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had previously sat down for a working dinner in Paris for about three hours. According to the Élyséepalast, the meeting between the two presidents was marked by “true trust”. Macron plays a special role for Selenksyj. France has taken a leading role on several occasions since the beginning of the war.
After his visit to Germany, Ukrainian President Zelenskyj arrived in Paris in the evening. The Ukrainian army reports further advances near Bakhmut.