Macron to travel to Ukraine in February to finalize bilateral security deal

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would head to Ukraine in February to finalize a bilateral security guarantee deal under which Paris would deliver more sophisticated weaponry, including long-range cruise missiles.

The trip comes at a time when political infighting in the US and European Union has held up two major packages of assistance for Ukraine.

Macron said some 40 SCALP long-range missiles and several hundred bombs would be delivered in the upcoming weeks.

"We are going to deliver a lot more equipment and help Ukraine with what it needs to defend its skies," Macron told a news conference. "I will go myself to Ukraine in February and finalize these texts."

France has already delivered about 50 SCALP missiles, which have a range of about 250 km, three times as far as Ukraine's existing missile capacities.

Macron added that Europeans would in the coming weeks ramp up their support for Ukraine so it could continue to defend itself against Russia because Moscow could not be allowed to defeat Ukraine otherwise the security of Europe would be put at risk.

Ukraine's defense minister will be in Paris on Thursday, France's defense ministry said on Tuesday.

 

Reuters