Dam destroyed in Ukraine: Macron condemns ‘atrocious act’ and will send aid ‘in the next few hours’

Emmanuel Macron denounces “a heinous act that endangers the population”. The day after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, the president of the republic indicated on Twitter that he had expressed “solidarity with his people” to his Ukrainian counterpart. “We will send aid in the next few hours to meet urgent needs,” he added after a telephone interview with Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to Elysée, the crisis support center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “will send the first column of about ten tons of products requested by the Ukrainians very quickly” in terms of health, hygiene and sanitation, including a portable tank.

On Twitter, the Ukrainian head of state previously claimed to have mentioned the “environmental and humanitarian consequences of the Russian terrorist attack” and stressed “Ukraine’s urgent need to deal with the consequences of a natural disaster” in the Kherson region.

Moscow and Kyiv disclaim responsibility for the destruction of this dam, located on the Dnieper, at the turn between the positions of the two camps. Cities and villages were flooded, located both on the coast, under the control of Ukraine, and under the occupation of Russia.

Kyiv hopes for quick training of pilots

Zelensky said that he also agreed with Emmanuel Macron on “continuation of cooperation in defense matters”, in particular on the air defense of Ukrainian cities. “We hope that the training of Ukrainian pilots will begin as soon as possible,” he added, while France promised “basic” training without first determining the type of aircraft that could be supplied and used by Kiev.

The President of Ukraine also thanked his French counterpart for “support” of the UN Security Council and discussed “formats of security guarantees for Ukraine” on the eve of the NATO summit scheduled for July in Vilnius.

In this regard, Paris reaffirmed that the goal is to “attack decisively not only on the ground”, thanks to the expected counter-offensive from Kiev, “but also to consolidate the chances for a lasting peace.”