International

Ukraine's defence minister cancels trip to France for 'security reasons'

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov cancelled his scheduled visit to France on Thursday "for security reasons", the French Ministry of Armed Forces said in a statement on Wednesday, AFP reports.

opendemocracy.net
Sursa: opendemocracy.net

Umerov will meet with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu via videoconference on Thursday instead. The two are expected to discuss the launch of an "artillery coalition" aimed at strengthening Kyiv's capabilities against Russia.

This coalition, led by France and the United States, is one of the components of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG, also known as the Ramstein group), which brings together more than 50 countries supporting Kyiv in its war against Russia.

Composed of 23 states, the artillery coalition "aims to coordinate efforts to help Ukraine build artillery forces suitable for the needs of the counter-offensive and its future army, both in the short and long term", the French Ministry of Armed Forces said in a previous release.

Lecornu and Oumerov had planned to visit weapons manufacturer Nexter's industrial sites in Bourges on Thursday afternoon, where Caesar self-propelled howitzers, favoured by Kyiv, are produced. They were also due to visit the missile manufacturer MBDA in Selles-Saint-Denis, a municipality located on the eastern edge of Paris.

Valeria Văcărescu

Valeria Văcărescu

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