French Foreign Minister Visits Kharkiv After Trip to Frontline Sumy Region
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has completed a symbolic visit to Ukraine’s frontline regions, including the embattled city of Kharkiv and, notably, the war-scarred Sumy region, becoming the first foreign minister from a partner country to travel there since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha’s post on social media platform X.
Sybiha, who accompanied Barrot, described the trip as a powerful gesture of solidarity.
Writing on X, Sybiha emphasized the significance of such visits in bolstering morale and securing international backing for communities enduring relentless Russian attacks.
“Minister Barrot witnessed the consequences of Russian terror against Kharkiv. Damaged residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure,” Sybiha noted. “This clearly demonstrates how Putin escalates terror instead of accepting a full and unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine will use every opportunity to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
The French diplomat also visited Kyiv earlier this week, where he took part in the annual conference of Ukrainian ambassadors.
In a personal post from Kharkiv, Barrot addressed Vladimir Putin’s narrative that Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine belong to Moscow. “Putin wanted to make people believe that he was at home in eastern Ukraine because Russian is spoken there. Unconquered Kharkiv is glaring proof of the opposite: Russian is spoken there, but the invader is being fought relentlessly in the name of freedom,” he wrote.
Sybiha concluded by thanking President Emmanuel Macron and the French people for their unwavering support, underlining France’s continued commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and defense.
As The Gaze reported earlier, on July 21, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant to assess the damage inflicted by a Russian drone strike earlier this year.