‘We give back’: Zelenskyy replies to Le Pen’s pledge to cut aid
Ukrainian President argues that European defense industries benefit from battlefield experience and cooperation
Quick Look
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged Marine Le Pen's vow to cut financial aid to Ukraine, arguing that European nations benefit from the military experience and technological cooperation gained through the ongoing conflict.
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Why It Matters
Marine Le Pen has stated she would stop financial aid to Ukraine if elected president, while maintaining non-financial support. The SAMP/T air defense system is currently in use in Ukraine.
PARIS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied to French far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen's pledge to cut financial aid with a message: Europe is benefitting from Ukraine.
"Ukraine will give back security. It's security and experience, the price is not so high as people's lives, that's why I think that Madame Le Pen is not deeply [acquainted] with some details," he told the Financial Times. "We give back and this is very important."
Le Pen has repeatedly said, including to POLITICO, that she would stop financial aid to Ukraine if she's elected as French president next year — but suggested France could keep training Ukraine's military and provide non-financial assistance. Le Pen, the National Rally candidate, is currently leading the polls.
Zelenskyy stressed that European armed forces and defense industries, including France's, were benefiting from Ukraine's battlefield experience. "It's win-win," he said.
He argued that Le Pen should keep supporting Ukraine because it's helping the Franco-Italian air defense system SAMP/T, which is currently deployed in the war-torn country, be more efficient. "We made a lot of different changes together with French guys, because they saw how it worked and how it works now."
"The French industry only wins with these technologies, cooperation, co-production," he added. "I will not vote for her ... because I'm Ukrainian," he also joked.
Open Questions
- Will Le Pen adjust her policy stance based on these comments?
- How will the French electorate respond to Zelenskyy's intervention?
