President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to be welcomed by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna at Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport this evening.
By Margaux d’Adhemar
Published 14/05/2023 at 4:03 PM, updated 14/05/2023 at 6:19 PM
After his visit to Berlin towards France. As Le Figaro learned, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected on French territory this Sunday. He has to land at the Vélizy-Villacoublay air base in the evening. He will be greeted by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna before meeting Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace.
A journey in full preparation for a counteroffensive
This surprise visit by the President of Ukraine follows visits organized this weekend in Rome, the Vatican and Berlin. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was able to have an audience with Pope Francis on Saturday after meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
This content is not accessible to all.
On Sunday morning he was received by Olaf Scholz. He called on the German chancellor to support efforts by several Kiev allies to supply warplanes to repel the Russian invasion and assured Ukraine “is not attacking Russian territory”. “We don’t have the time or the strength to do it, and we no longer have the weapons to do it. “We are preparing a counter-offensive to liberate the unlawfully conquered areas,” he said.
This trip takes place in the midst of preparations for a counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army. While major maneuvers have apparently not yet begun, Kiev has already pushed Russian troops back several kilometers around Bakhmout in the Donbass.