French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on October 19 announced his country's support for Ukraine's "victory plan" for ending the war with Russia.
Unveiled by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on October 16, the ambitious plan hopes to compel Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations no later than next year.
Barrot, who began a two-day trip to Kyiv on October 19, said a Russian victory in this war would be a "consecration for the law of the strongest and would push the international order toward chaos."
"That is why our exchanges should allow us to make progress on President Zelenskiy's victory plan and rally the greatest number possible of countries around it," Barrot said at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiha.
Barrot said that Ukrainians were not only fighting for their country's territorial integrity, but "also holding a front line that separates Europe from Vladimir Putin's Russia, that separates freedom from oppression."
Barrot announced that France plans to deliver the first batch of Mirage 2000 combat jets to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025, with Ukrainian pilots and mechanics also trained to fly and maintain the aircraft.
France has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters in Europe since Russia's brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
A full new brigade of Ukrainian soldiers for frontline deployment is currently being trained and equipped by France.
Barrot's visit to Kyiv comes hours after Russia launched a new drone strike on the Ukrainian capital overnight, the city's military administration said in a statement on October 19.
A woman sustained a "serious injury" in the strike, the statement said, adding that the attack also damaged a house and several vehicles.
Moscow, meanwhile, said its air defenses shot down 16 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s Bryansk, Rostov, and Belgorod regions in the early hours of October 19.
Russia's Defense Ministry also claimed that its forces had taken the village of Zoryane, enabling them to approach the industrial hub of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine.
Kurakhove, home to about 20,000 people before the invasion, lies south of Pokrovsk, a key target of Moscow's forces advancing westward through the Donetsk region.
The head of Pokrovsk's military administration, Serhiy Dobrak, on October 18 urged residents to evacuate.
"Do not delay, pack up and leave. It will be dangerous," Dobrak was quoted by Urkainian media as saying.
