
While the loud sound of air raid sirens pierced via the relative calm of kyiv on thursday morning, it was a stark reminder for french president emmanuel macron, german chancellor olaf scholz and italian top minister mario draghi that they were touring a country below assault.
Not that they needed one. Like different leaders before them, they traveled to the ukrainian capital on a special teach that prompt from poland within the nighttime and became guarded by means of dozens of closely armed soldiers. The 3 had been in kyiv on a venture to attempt to clean out tensions over what the ukrainian authorities perceives as a loss of tangible support from their governments. Macron and scholz in particular had been on the receiving end of tons complaint in current weeks, with ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky even going as a long way as suggesting the two have been trying to appease russian president vladimir putin.
Macron regarded determined to trade the narrative. Arriving in kyiv for his first visit since the war started almost 4 months ago — and lengthy after a number of other global leaders traveled there — macron become eager to send a message of assist. Requested by using reporters on the teach station whether or not he had a message for the ukrainian people, the french president said: “a message of ecu harmony addressed to ukrainian women and men, of support to speak approximately each the present and the destiny due to the fact the approaching weeks, we realize, will be very difficult weeks. I want to be in guide and at their aspect.”