Zelensky and Macron to meet in person, with Merkel on video

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French
President Emmanuel Macron will meet in Paris on April 16. Unian.com reports
that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will connect by video. The meeting, which
was scheduled last week, will focus on the build-up of Russian military forces
on Ukraine’s borders.

The meeting comes as Russia closes the Sea of Azov and
the area around the Kerch Strait for military exercises from next week until
October 15. Russian Border Service boats also tried to interfere with a Ukrainian
Navy patrol in the Sea of Azov on April 15.

James Hydzik: The meeting
in Paris is likely to be a mixed bag for Zelensky. His overtures repeated
requests for an offer to join NATO will probably not be highlighted or
responded to very much. Since Putin is not meeting Zelensky directly, the
latest iteration of Russian demands is likely to be transmitted. France and
Germany are genuinely concerned, but what this can translate to materially is
an open question.

Even though the U.S. did not place two warships in
the Black Sea that it had scheduled, American and UK reconnaissance aircraft
are flying over the northern Black Sea and eastern Ukraine on a daily basis.
The continental presence is far quieter, if it is present at all. We do not
expect this to change after today’s meeting.