Paris will host an international conference on Ukraine on December 13 to coordinate aid to Kyiv to weather the winter. This was agreed on Tuesday by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Volodímir Zelenski in a telephone conversation, as announced by the Elysee.
In a statement, the French presidency speaks of "supporting the civil resilience" of Ukraine. Before the conference there will be a "preparatory work" with the rest of the countries that support Kyiv to face the Russian aggression. In addition, Macron and Zelensky will organize a bilateral conference - it is not yet known whether it will be face-to-face or virtual - on December 12 "to mobilize French companies" in the common effort in favor of Ukraine.
During the telephone conversation, Macron reiterated to his Ukrainian counterpart the French commitment to "increase its military support to Ukraine as soon as possible, in particular with regard to anti-aircraft defense". In the civil field, the priority is to help Kyiv get through the winter, which is going to be very hard after the serious damage caused by the continuous Russian bombardment of the electrical and supply infrastructures.
The two heads of state addressed the situation created after the suspension by Russia of the grain export agreement. Macron denounced Moscow's "unilateral decision" that "once again endangers world food security."
Other topics of discussion between Macron and Zelensky were the precarious state of the Zaporiya nuclear power plant, due to the pressure exerted by the Russians on the Ukrainian personnel of the facility, as well as "false allegations" by Russia about the alleged preparation of a Ukrainian attack with a 'dirty' bomb (with radioactive material). Macron welcomed the promptness with which Ukraine has accepted a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to show that Kyiv is not preparing such an attack and that the accusations are unfounded.
