Emmanuel Macron expressed his “deep emotion” to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, July 11, after deadly Russian strikes on the country and offered French help to rebuild the destroyed children's hospital in Kiev. During an interview on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, he “condemned these unacceptable attacks, against civilian objectives and in particular against the pediatric hospital in Kiev, with the greatest firmness and specified that France was willing to provide the necessary support for the reconstruction of this hospital which is so important for Ukrainians,” indicated the Elysée.
The strikes left more than 40 people dead and devastated Ukraine's largest pediatric hospital on Monday. The attack on the Okhmatdyt hospital center created a shock in this country, which has suffered Russian bombings for more than two years, and among its allies.
The French president also reaffirmed France's “determination to continue to support Ukraine as long and intensely as necessary to defeat the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.” He also said "France's commitment to deploy the necessary diplomatic efforts, in conjunction with the entire international community, to achieve a just and lasting peace, while respecting the legitimate rights of Ukraine and the fundamental principles of international law," following the Ukraine Peace Summit held in Switzerland in June.
Following the Russian attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine is demanding a "strong response" from its Western allies. The three-day NATO summit in Washington to mark the 75th anniversary is all about the war in Ukraine. The central question is: How can Kiev be further supported in its defense against the Russian invasion? A member of the Ukrainian parliament has clear ideas.
Shortly before the start of the NATO summit, terrible images from Ukraine went around the world. On Monday (July 8), a Russian missile hit the country's largest children's hospital in Kiev, causing horror. Two adults died, including a doctor. It is a miracle that children were "only" injured and not killed. The staff had brought the young patients to safety in the bunker shortly before the attack.
Ukrainian MP Maria Ionova called for a "strong response" from Ukraine's western allies and NATO. "This is going too far - deliberately shooting children with cancer. I don't know where the red lines are in this brutality and terror, because it was intentional," said Ionova. She continued, "Unfortunately, there will only be peace if we get more long-range missiles, air defenses and F-16 fighter jets to protect us and destroy the Russian military infrastructure." Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk also called for an increase in air defense on Telegram.
The US President Joe Biden promised Ukraine additional equipment to defend against Russian air strikes. At a ceremony to mark NATO's 75th anniversary, Biden, who is under special scrutiny because of his botched TV debate against Donald Trump, promised Ukraine more air defense systems.
The United States, Germany, Romania, Italy, and the Netherlands spoke of “additional” Patriot air defense systems as well as dozens of tactical air defense systems such as Nasams and Iris-T in a joint statement on Tuesday (July 9) to support the war in Ukraine.
The outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg once again called for significantly more aid and for Ukraine to be admitted into the defense alliance. Before the summit, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk surprised everyone with his statement that it was possible to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine that came close to Polish airspace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated at the meeting in Warsaw that a mechanism for this would be developed.
- Meanwhile, Russia is spreading its own propaganda about the attack on the children's hospital in Kiev on social media, supported by German right-wing extremist channels.
