Politics & Economics

French companies are working effectively in Ukraine's energy system to help it survive the difficult winter period, and French business investment in Ukraine's economy continues to grow despite the difficult situation at the front. This was stated by Pierre Elbrun, the French Presidential Envoy for Economic Assistance and Reconstruction of Ukraine, to an Ukrinform correspondent in Strasbourg. “I have just returned from New York, where I held strategic discussions on Ukraine's energy sector with both US Secretary of State Blinken and G7 foreign ministers. At the same time, France is already active in this sector. A week and a half…

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Slovakia General Daniel Zmeko have agreed on further joint efforts to deepen the development of Ukrainian-Slovak military cooperation. According to Ukrinform, Syrskyi posted this on Facebook. During the meeting, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also informed Zmeko about the course of hostilities in various areas of the front and the current needs of the Defense Forces. He emphasized the violation of international humanitarian law by the Russian military and their war crimes. “This is the third personal…

French President Emmanuel Macron will come to Ukraine when his visit is really useful and necessary. And also when it will have weight not only at the level of the country but also at the level of the whole of Europe. This opinion was expressed by Pierre Elbrun, the French Presidential Envoy for Economic Assistance and Reconstruction of Ukraine, in a conversation with an Ukrinform correspondent. “The idea is not to make visits for the sake of visits. But to come when there is a special need, specific news. When a visit can change or clarify something. But we are…

The new French government is pro-Europe and pro-Ukraine, so it will maintain aid flows and investment spending in its 2025 budget. In addition, France pays its share into the European budget, which provides macro-financial support scheduled for the next three years so there are no grounds for concerns that France's aid will wane. That’s according to Pierre Heilbronn, the French President's Commissioner for Economic Assistance and Reconstruction of Ukraine, who spoke in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent at the Congress of Regions in Strasbourg. "You can be calm because, first of all, the main source of aid to Ukraine…

The Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security pursues efforts to provide a brief explanation to foreign audiences on the current topics of particular interest as regards Ukraine. PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES On September 26, Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Republican candidate Donald Trump also announced the planned meeting.  Biden and Harris assured that the United States will provide Ukraine with all the support necessary for victory. The decision to increase security aid was announced: the new aid package will amount to $7.9 billion.  The remaining funds for…

As of September 27, 2024, all five sugar refineries that declared their readiness to start the production season are operating in the Vinnytsia region. An Ukrinform correspondent learned this from the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration. “As of today (September 27 - ed.), all five of our sugar refineries have commenced operations. They have processed 332,000 tonnes of raw sugar and produced 41,000 tonnes of sugar,” the RMA said. Read also: Ukraine exports 692,000 tons of sugar in 2023/2024 The administration noted that as of September 27, sugar beets were gathered from 13% of the area provided for harvesting in the…

India will not buy liquefied natural gas produced within Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, which has been sanctioned by Western democracies. That’s according to the country’s Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain, Ukrinform reports citing Reuters. "We will not buy (supply from) Arctic LNG 2. We are not buying any sanctioned commodity. Something which has broad-based sanctions, we are not touching it," Jain said Friday. It is noted that the project run by Russia's Novatek is subject to international sanctions over the war of aggression Russia is waging against Ukraine. The U.S. slapped sanctions on hundreds of entities and individuals for supporting…

American intelligence agencies assess that Russia could respond with greater force by targeting the United States and its coalition partners if Washington green-lights for Ukraine long-range strikes inside Russia with the use of Western-supplied weapons. This was reported by the NYT with reference to unnamed U.S. officials, Ukrinform saw. U.S. intelligence believes Russia will likely retaliate against the U.S. and its coalition partners if they agree to give the Ukrainians permission to use long-range missiles provided by the USA, UK, and France for strikes deep inside Russia, sources told journalists. The previously undisclosed intelligence assessment also downplays the impact of…

President Biden will host a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany on October 12, 2024. This is according to the White House website, Ukrinform reports. Biden and other leaders review progress on these consultations and coordinate with international partners on additional assistance for Ukraine. President Biden is determined to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win. Read also: Zelensky presented Biden with Victory Plan Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Biden held a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House.

Stopping support for Ukraine's self-defense will lead to an increase in the number of wars, not a decrease. According to Ukrinform, this was stated by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. Baerbock stated that as long as Putin refuses to engage in negotiations, halting support for Ukraine's self-defense would result in stripping Ukrainian hospitals and children of security. She added that this would likely lead to an increase in the number of conflicts, potentially in other countries as well, rather than reducing them. She recalled that in June, after inviting…