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France affirms support of Ukraine, continues negotiation efforts

France has pledged further military support for Ukraine while efforts continue with Moscow to reach an eventual negotiated end to Russia鈥檚 invasion.

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France鈥檚 defense minister on Wednesday pledged further military support for Ukraine, insisting his government鈥檚 backing is unflagging while efforts are also being made with Moscow to reach an eventual negotiated end to聽Russia鈥檚 invasion.

Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu said support will include French army equipment and a $212 million fund that would allow Ukraine to purchase weapons.

While France has been less vocal about its military backing for Ukraine than the United States and Britain, the country has sent聽a steady supply of weapons to Ukraine聽since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

France hosted聽two aid conferences for Ukraine聽this month. But many in Ukraine remain critical of Paris鈥� response to the war because of President Emmanuel Macron鈥檚 efforts to maintain contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and seek a negotiated solution.

Mr. Lecornu said France was giving military equipment from the French army to the Ukrainian army, but highlighted that this would not weaken France鈥檚 defense. France could deliver a new air-defense system in the future, officials said, without revealing details, though Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov added that France would immediately begin training Ukrainian air officers on how to use it.

Mr. Lecornu and Mr. Reznikov did not specify which new air defense system France could give Ukraine in the near future. But Mr. Lecornu later mentioned the MAMBA anti-missile system developed together with Italy, describing it as the European equivalent of the Patriot air defense system that the U.S. has given Ukraine.

Unlike the U.S. government, which announced it was giving the Patriots before teaching Ukrainians how to use them, France will train Ukrainians first so that it could potentially deliver a new system, such as the Mamba SAMP/T together with Italy, once they are ready to use it, Mr. Lecornu鈥檚 office explained to the AP.

Mr. Reznikov said Ukraine鈥檚 top priority remains 鈥渁ir defense, anti-missile defense, anti-drone defense, that is, the task of protecting (the) Ukrainian sky.鈥� French Crotale air-defense systems already are 鈥渙n combat duty,鈥� said Mr. Reznikov.

鈥淎nd accordingly, we agreed that we will increase (the) capabilities of our air force,鈥� he said.

Mr. Lecornu arrived a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.S., Ukraine鈥檚 chief ally, and amid fighting focused mostly in the country鈥檚 east but with neither Moscow nor Kyiv reporting major gains in recent weeks.

After a meeting with Mr. Lecornu, Mr. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to France on social media 鈥渇or the already provided military assistance aimed at protecting the Ukrainian sky and strengthening the capabilities of the defense forces.鈥�

Earlier on Wednesday, in his annual speech to Ukraine鈥檚 parliament, Mr. Zelenskyy urged the European Union to open membership talks with his country after granting it candidate status in June. He also praised relations with the U.S., saying its decision to send Patriot missiles is 鈥渁 special sign of trust in Ukraine.鈥�

While both Russia and Ukraine have said they were willing to聽participate in peace talks, their stated conditions remain far apart. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Wednesday that any peace plan must acknowledge four regions of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed as Russian territory, a demand that Kyiv flatly rejects.

Russian forces have pressed their offensive to capture all of eastern Ukraine by concentrating in recent weeks on Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk province. Ukrainian forces were pushing聽a counteroffensive聽toward Kreminna, a city in neighboring Luhansk province, in hopes of potentially dividing Russia鈥檚 troops in the east.

France has supplied Ukraine with a substantial chunk of its arsenal of Caesar cannons, as well as anti-tank missiles, Crotale air defense missile batteries, and rocket launchers. It is also training some 2,000 Ukrainian troops on French soil. Mr. Macron pledged last week to provide a new injection of weapons in early 2023.

Western military aid to Ukraine has angered Moscow. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Washington and NATO of fueling the war with the aim of weakening Russia and warned the conflict could spin out of control.

Russia invaded Ukraine 10 months ago, alleging a threat to its security orchestrated by NATO. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions so far, with an end nowhere in sight.

Russian attacks on power stations and other infrastructure have left millions of Ukrainians without heating and electricity for hours or days at a time.

The latest Russian shelling wounded at least eight civilians, including three in Bakhmut, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

In the southern region of Kherson, Russian shelling hit a maternity hospital soon after two women gave birth there, although Ukrainian officials said no one was wounded.

Ukraine鈥檚 foreign minister told The Associated Press this week聽that his government would like to see a peace conference by the end of February. Ukraine has said in the past that it wouldn鈥檛 negotiate with Russia before the full withdrawal of its troops, while Moscow insists its military gains and the 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula cannot be ignored.

Asked about Ukraine鈥� intention to hold a February summit under the U.N.鈥檚 aegis, Kremlin spokesman Mr. Peskov said any peace plan could only proceed from the assumption of Russia鈥檚 sovereignty over the illegally annexed areas of Ukraine.

鈥淭here isn鈥檛 any peace plan by Ukraine yet,鈥� Mr. Peskov said during a conference call with reporters. 鈥淎nd there can鈥檛 be any Ukrainian peace plan that fails to take into account today鈥檚 realities regarding the Russian territory, the incorporation of the new four regions into Russia. Any plan that fails to acknowledge these realities can鈥檛 be considered a peace plan.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.