France’s Macron honours Volodymyr Zelenskyy with highest civilian award-- the Legion of Honour

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron has bestowed the Legion of Honour on his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the latter’s visit to Paris on Thursday. The Legion of Honour is the highest civilian award a French president can give to a counterpart, the Elysee Palace said in a statement. Praising Zelenskyy for the tremendous courage he has displayed during the ongoing war with Russia, the French President wrote on social media, “A salute to Ukraine and its people. A salute to you, dear Volodymyr, for your courage and commitment.” The Ukrainian President who has been leading from the front while his country is engaged in a bitter war with Russia for nearly a year now told Macron and Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz late on Wednesday that they had the opportunity to be “game changers” in the war against Russia by not hesitating in delivering heavy weapons and modern fighter jets to Ukraine.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its first anniversary later this month, Russia has stepped up the attack on Ukraine by a series of airstrikes in which several residential localities have been hit and numerous innocent civilians killed. A video posted by the Elysee presidential palace showed President Macron handing the medal to Zelenskyy, who was dressed in his trademark khaki attire, in an opulent room. The two men shared a warm embrace and held hands as Zelenskyy responded to Macron. “I said to the president, I said I think it’s too much for me, and that’s why I address it (the decoration) of course for all of our people, the Ukrainians, for our society. And a great honour to be here,” Zelenskyy is heard telling those in the room. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .