France has been holding discussions with Ukraine since October last year about access to Ukraine's deposits of critical minerals as it looks to diversify its supply, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu told France Info on Thursday.
"We are speaking about this issue for our own French needs. I have defense industries that will need access to a certain number of raw materials in the years to come," Lecornu stated.
Ukraine appointed Naftogaz chief executive Serhii Koretskyi as prime minister this past week in its biggest wartime cabinet reshuffle, testing whether reconstruction reforms that underpin billions of euros in international financing will stay on course. Koretskyi, confirmed as prime minister on 16 July, has sought to reassure international partners that
Ukraine is considering a rail corridor through Moldova to the Romanian port of Constanța as an alternative to Black Sea shipping, as Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports increasingly disrupt grain exports, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. Kyiv has asked Moldovan authorities for a 50% discount on the standard freight rate,
