Ukrainian president meets with French armed forces minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu in Paris.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Lecornu showed Zelensky the military equipment produced for Ukraine's needs.

Two intergovernmental agreements on military cooperation were signed during the meeting. One of them concerns innovative solutions and improving the service of French equipment that was sent to Ukraine.

The second agreement provides for the creation of a branch of the international holding company KNDS in Ukraine for the production of spare parts and maintenance of equipment. It should be operational within the next 12 months.

KNDS is one of the main European manufacturers of military land systems. The holding company produces artillery systems, battle tanks, and Caesar howitzers, which France supplies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This agreement was the result of an initiative announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron to produce spare parts, ammunition, and eventually military equipment in Ukraine.