New French Ambassador to Ukraine Records Video Message in Ukrainian

Ahead of taking up his post, France's new ambassador to Ukraine, Brice Roquefeuil, has recorded an address in Ukrainian, posted on the French Embassy's social media on July 25. In the message from Paris, Roquefeuil noted he was at the French Foreign Ministry building on the Quai d'Orsay, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently attended a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. Roquefeuil highlighted that over the past three years, as Director for Continental Europe at France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, he has visited Ukraine many times, participated in official visits, and been actively involved in support efforts across various sectors.

"I will continue to work in all these areas as the new French ambassador to Ukraine, together with the entire embassy team," Roquefeuil stated. He was appointed by a decree of President Emmanuel Macron on July 13, succeeding Gaël Veyssière, who led the French diplomatic mission in Kyiv for three years and returns to Paris to head the Crisis and Support Centre at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, Germany's ambassador to Ukraine, Heiko Thoms, is also completing his tenure, with Boris Ruge, a diplomat at NATO headquarters, reportedly set to replace him according to Spiegel.