Zelenskyy Explained How He Plans to Build a Relationship with Marine Le Pen

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that elections in European Union countries and the rising popularity of far-right political forces could pose significant challenges for Ukraine.

The head of state also emphasized that no other country can provide Europe with the same level of expertise as Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that elections in EU countries and the rising popularity of far-right parties could pose many challenges for Ukraine.

Commenting on French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s statement that, if she wins, Paris will stop providing financial aid to Kyiv, Zelenskyy said:

“I think our military’s experience is technologically very important to our partners. The United Kingdom, the United States, and France are among these partners. And I think that French industry can benefit from these technologies, from this cooperation and joint production. We are not in the first or second year of the war. Yes, this is about helping Ukraine become strong. But Ukraine will give back security and experience,” Zelenskyy said.

He emphasized that the price France is paying for this experience is not as high as the cost of human lives.

“I think Ms. Le Pen isn’t fully aware of some of the details. We’re giving something back. And that’s very important,” the president added.

He noted that Ukraine has already helped France, as well as other allies, adapt their weapons, making them more effective.

“SAMP/T is France’s air defense system. As a politician, she needs to be confident in it. Otherwise, what’s the point of producing it? She needs to be confident that she has the strongest European system that actually works. We’ve made many different changes to this system, together with the French team. They saw how it used to work and how it works now—these are two different things. The same goes for SCALP missiles and other types of weapons and security systems, including the cyber expertise we have—which no one else had—and cyberattacks,” Zelenskyy added.

The 
president emphasized that cooperation with Ukraine is beneficial to both sides, not just Kyiv.

“All of Europe—and this was the right approach before this war—spent billions on tanks, armored vehicles, large quantities of ammunition, and many other things that are no longer useful after these past few years. So our experience from this war provides lessons for countries that won’t be spending billions on tanks and the like. They’ll have to spend money on other things. It’s cheaper. These smart people said: ‘Listen, you’ve saved us billions—for our budget—literally billions.’ That’s what we’re doing,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

He made these remarks in an interview with the Financial Times, adding that Kyiv must try to engage in dialogue with everyone.
 

Zelenskyy stated that the downed Russian Su-34s were supposed to attack Ukraine.

Zelenskyy arrived in Brussels for talks with partners.