France readying more than $200 million in military aid for Ukraine, minister says

Paris —  France is preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine worth more than $211 million from the interest earned on frozen Russian assets, its defense minister said in an interview published Sunday. Sebastien Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, in the interview with the Tribune Dimanche newspaper, described the suspension of U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine as a 'heavy blow' to Kyiv's fight against the Russian invasion. 'This year we will mobilize, thanks to the interests of frozen Russian assets, a new package of 195 million euros ($211,253,250)' for Ukraine, he said. This will enable the