Bruno Retailleau arrived in Kyiv ahead of the French elections
Bruno Retailleau announced his visit to Kyiv on X.
Bruno Retailleau arrived in Kyiv as part of his first international pre-election tour.
He is a former French Minister of the Interior, president of the “Republicans” party and a candidate in the upcoming French presidential election.
“In Kyiv. I have decided to dedicate my first international campaign tour to Ukraine, which has been facing Russian aggression for over four years,” Retailleau said.
The French presidential election is scheduled to take place between 8 and 23 April 2027. A second round, if required, will be held two weeks later.
These elections will be the 13th in the Fifth French Republic. Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron will not be able to stand as he has already been elected twice.
Position on Russia’s war against Ukraine
Retailleau stated that he would always reject a policy under which “crime can be rewarded”, “aggression can pay off”, “borders are worthless”, and “memory can be erased”.
His stance on Ukraine is not limited to this current visit.
In 2024, during a debate in the French Senate on the Franco-Ukrainian security agreement, Retailleau said that for France, supporting Ukraine is a fight for the sovereignty of nations and the freedom of people.
At the time, he also linked Russia’s war against Ukraine to Vladimir Putin’s imperial logic.
What he said previously
Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Retailleau criticised the Russian rhetoric with which Moscow sought to justify its aggression against Ukraine.
The French media also quoted his statement that Russia and Putin are the aggressors in this war.
At the same time, for Retailleau, the current visit to Kyiv also has a domestic political dimension. It is taking place against the backdrop of the upcoming presidential campaign in France, where the issues of the war in Ukraine, European security and attitudes towards Russia remain part of a major political debate.
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