PARIS - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a security pact with France on Feb 16, after earlier in the day securing a similar deal with Germany hailed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a “historic step” anchoring support for Kyiv in its raging battle against Russia.

Both agreements are part of Mr Zelensky’s drive to shore up help for his forces who are struggling to hold off Russian attacks on the front-line city of Avdiivka.

The agreement with France, signed by Mr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, includes a French pledge for up to €3 billion (S$4.4 billion) in aid for 2024, after €1.7 billion in 2022 and €2.1 billion in 2023, officials said.

They said the pact would run for 10 years, and notably strengthen cooperation in the area of artillery.

They also said the deal was aimed at helping Ukraine with the “re-establishment of its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders”, and forestall “any renewed Russian aggression”.

The deal is also to help pave the way for Ukraine’s future integration into the European Union and Nato, the officials said.

“France affirms that a future Ukrainian membership would constitute a useful contribution to peace and stability in Europe,” they said, quoting from the agreement.

With the Ukraine war about to enter its third year, Mr Zelensky is set to make further pleas for financing and armaments at the Munich Security Conference on Feb 17, where leaders such as US Vice-President Kamala Harris have gathered.

Mr Zelensky’s European tour comes at a critical time, with Ukraine facing mounting pressure on the eastern front because of ammunition shortages and fresh Russian attacks.

Fierce fighting raged around the beleaguered eastern front-line town of Avdiivka, which has become a main Russian target ahead of the Feb 24 anniversary of the invasion.

The long-term future of billions of dollars of Western aid is meanwhile in doubt, with the biggest contributor, the United States, in the throes of an election year.

A possible US$60 billion (S$81 billion) package of military aid has been held up in Washington since 2023 because of wrangling in Congress.

The EU has also admitted that it will be able to make good on only half of the one million artillery shells it promised to send by March.

But Mr Scholz underlined that the security pact inked in Berlin on Feb 16 illustrates that Germany will “not let up” in supporting Ukraine. He also announced a new €1.1 billion package of immediate military support.

‘For as long as it takes’

“This document... shows that Germany will continue to help Ukraine with its defence against Russia’s attacks. I have often said: for as long as it takes,” said Mr Scholz, who also called the signing of the deal “a historic step”.

The agreement lays out support for a post-war Ukraine to build up a modern army that can repel further attacks from Russia in the future.

“Our security agreement is a truly unprecedented bilateral document,” said Mr Zelensky.

The Group of Seven nations flagged plans to provide Ukraine with long-term defence support on the sidelines of the Nato summit in July 2023. Alliance leaders failed, however, to set a timetable for Ukraine to join the bloc.

A first agreement had been signed with Britain in January, during Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to Kyiv.

Mr Zelensky is seeking to shake off any war fatigue besetting his allies.

Addressing the conference in Munich, Ms Harris said President Joe Biden’s administration “will work to secure critical weapons and resources that Ukraine so badly needs”.

Abandoning Kyiv would be a “gift to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin”, she said, on the eve of bilateral talks with Mr Zelensky.

Ukraine was once the main conflict on the minds of world leaders but Israel’s war with Hamas and the ensuing escalating crisis in the Middle East now also require urgent attention.

Mr Zelensky’s European tour was, meanwhile, overshadowed by the announcement on Feb 16 of the death in a Russian prison of opposition figure Alexei Navalny that sparked worldwide reactions.

“Obviously he was killed by Putin,” Mr Zelensky said in Berlin. “Like thousands of others who have been tortured.”

He said this demonstrated why President Putin must be made to “lose everything and held accountable for his actions”.

At a joint news conference in Paris, Mr Macron added that Navalny’s death “illustrates the Kremlin’s weakness and its fear of all opponents”. AFP