PARIS: France pledged additional military aid for Ukraine on Sunday, including light tanks, armored vehicles, training for soldiers and other assistance as the Ukrainians gear up for a counteroffensive against Russian forces, following surprise talks in Paris between the Ukrainian and French presidents.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and France's Emmanuel Macron met for about three hours at the French presidential Elysee Palace — an encounter kept under wraps until shortly before the Ukrainian leader's arrival in Paris from Germany on a French government jet, extending his multi-stop European tour.