France summoned Russia's ambassador for talks on Monday in response to the deaths of two French nationals working for nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine.
The French government has pledged to continue supporting the Ukrainian military's efforts to push back Russian forces.
France Summons Russian Ambassador
BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 05: New French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal speaks to the media during talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Chancellery on February 05, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. This is Attal's first visit to Germany since he was appointed by French President Macron as prime minister in January following a French government crisis.
On Thursday, Russian attacks killed the humanitarian workers near a front line of the conflict in Ukraine, north of the Dnipro River, in the town of Beryslav in the southern Kherson region. Three more French nationals were injured.
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Kyiv in the coming weeks. He condemned the attack as "cowardly and outrageous."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Monday, "People being killed is always a tragedy," adding, however, that "specific details of this incident ... are unknown to us."
She also accused France of arming and training Kyiv's military to fuel the conflict in Ukraine.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal vowed to amplify arms shipments to Ukraine and noted that they are talking of the simple right for Ukrainians to defend themselves.
He spoke at a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who demanded last week that other European nations should increase their arms transfers to Ukraine. He stated that "it can't be down to Germany alone."
Last month, Macron announced that France would be sending more long-range cruise missiles and bombs to Ukraine. However, France's military assistance has lagged behind some other allies.
According to Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping that they would not want to carry on at some point. He pointed out that the message directed to him from the US and Europe would not work out as they would support Ukraine.
Furthermore, the French Foreign Ministry would use the summoning of Russian ambassador Alexey Meshkov to denounce the resurgence of disinformation targeting France.
The French government has accused Russia of orchestrating a long-running online manipulation campaign to spread misinformation about the conflict in Ukraine. The campaign allegedly included impersonating the websites of prominent French media outlets and the French Foreign Ministry.
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Russia Strikes Ukraine's Critical Infrastructure
Kyiv's air force reported on Sunday that Russian drone and missile attacks targeted civilian and critical infrastructure in Ukraine. The air force posted on Telegram that preliminary data did not indicate any casualties from the attacks.
Russia and Ukraine have increased their airstrikes on each other's territory in recent months, targeting critical military, energy, and transportation facilities.
Furthermore, Russia launched three surface-to-air missiles over the Donetsk region in the east and two ballistic missiles from the Iskander ballistic missile system in the central Poltava region.
Filip Pronin, governor of the Poltava region, wrote on Telegram that the attack caused a fire at an industrial site in Kremenchuk. Images shared on social media showed emergency crews battling a blaze.
Governor Yuri Malashko reported that a drone strike had damaged an infrastructure facility located further southeast in the Zaporizhzhia region. Malashko added that emergency personnel were on the scene, but he could not provide information regarding injuries or damage.
The air force said that the Ukraine air defense systems damaged four of eight Russia-launched drones overnight.
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