On 11 and 12 September, a French delegation consisting of Alice Rufo, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans, Benjamin Haddad, Minister Delegate for Europe, and Muriel Lacoue-Labarthe, France’s Special Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, travelled to Ukraine to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. This visit follows the meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 13 July and aims to reaffirm France’s support for Ukraine’s defence as winter approaches.
The three French envoys were accompanied by a delegation of French companies—Alta Ares, Delair, Eutelsat, Harmattan AI, Helsing, UnseenLabs—that met with Ukrainian industrial representatives in the drone and space sectors to foster cooperation. This support is part of the Start-up Défence initiative that Minister Rufo launched to bring together the armed forces, French defence start-ups, and public authorities to foster the emergence of a European ecosystem for innovation in service of the two countries’ armed forces.
“During my discussions, in the wake of the latest meeting of the Volunteers’ Coalition, we addressed accelerating French and European support, strengthening pressure on Russia’s war effort, particularly through the fight against the shadow fleet, and the implementation of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition,” posted on X Minister Rufo.
“The convergence of our industrial bases and innovation ecosystems is in the security interest of both our countries,” highlighted Minister Haddad.
The French delegation met with Igor Zhovka, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration for international relations, Ihor Klymenko, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine and Sergiy Boyev, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine.
