Macron: France will hand over long-range missiles to Kiev to support the APU offensive
France has decided to transfer long-range missiles to Kiev to support the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This was stated on Tuesday, July 11, by French leader Emmanuel Macron.
"I have decided to increase the supply of weapons and equipment to Ukraine, to allow them to strike deep. At the same time, we adhere to our doctrine aimed at allowing Ukraine to defend its territory. We have decided to supply new missiles that allow us to strike deep," he said before the NATO summit.
On July 11-12, a NATO summit is being held in Vilnius, where the issue of Ukraine's admission to the alliance will also be discussed.
The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov indicated on July 10 that Ukraine's potential entry into NATO would require a fairly clear and firm reaction from Russia.
At the same time, on July 7, the United States approved the shipment of cluster munitions as assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Already on July 10, it became known that the European Commission is not against the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine for self-defense, which the United States intends to allocate. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning noted that humanitarian problems may arise in the conflict zone as a result of the US sending cluster munitions to Ukraine. According to the diplomat, the parties should not add fuel to the fire.
Western countries are trying to strengthen military support for Ukraine amid recognition of the failure of the AFU counteroffensive. So, on July 7, Colonel of the Ukrainian army Sergei Yandulsky, in an interview with columnist Lorenzo Cremonesi in an article for Corriere Della Sera, admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive did not bring the expected results. He pointed out the reason for the strong training of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 last year, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.