Additional generators from France to arrive in Ukraine in early Feb – Ambassador Veyssière

Ambassador of the French Republic to Ukraine Gaël Veyssière announced the imminent arrival of the first batch of generators from the French side, which were announced at an emergency meeting of the G7+ Coordination Group on Energy.

"France assumed the G7 presidency on 1 January, and for us it was particularly important — as chair — to respond swiftly and concretely to the urgent appeal from the Ukrainian authorities following Russia’s most recent large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure," Ambassador Veyssière said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He noted that last Friday, French Europe and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen co-chaired an emergency meeting of the G7+ Energy Coordination Group.

"It was essential for the Minister to be present and to help deliver tangible support at this critical moment, and I believe we managed to do so effectively. France, for its part, is providing over 100 generators with a total capacity of 13 MW; with the first batch due to arrive already in the first week of February," the diplomat said.

He also emphasized that many other partners are providing assistance. As Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko noted, partners have announced and confirmed new support packages, including more than 6,000 units of large-scale energy equipment and contributions to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.

"Even with many other pressing international discussions taking place — whether in Davos, Abu Dhabi or elsewhere — the G7’s ability to respond promptly and substantively to Ukraine’s immediate needs remains of fundamental importance," Veyssière said.

He added that Minister Barrot, who has already visited Ukraine three times, including cities such as Sumy and Kharkiv, " is personally committed to keeping this issue at the top of the agenda and to ensuring that our collective response matches the scale of the challenge."

"For France, this remains a very high priority," the ambassador added.