Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, had to go to shelter during talks with Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko because of an air-raid warning. This is not Hidalgo’s first visit to Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale war.

"Today I had to relocate the meeting with the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to a shelter. An air-raid warning was issued during our talks," Klitschko said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that the air-raid warning, which was issued around 12:00, was related to the takeoff of a Russian MiG-31K jet that is capable of carrying Kinzhal missiles.

Klitschko said that Hidalgo showed her unwavering position on the inadmissibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes participating in the Olympic Games, to be held in the French capital in the summer. Hidalgo also invited Klitschko to the Summit of European Mayors in Paris in May.

Klitschko presented Anne Hidalgo with a badge of honour for contributing to the defence of Kyiv in appreciation of the humanitarian aid from Paris, including generators and other equipment. 

He reiterated that this is Anne Hidalgo's fourth visit to the Ukrainian capital. The first one was in April 2022. Back then, Kyiv and Paris signed an agreement on friendship and cooperation. 

In the first month of the full-scale war, Paris symbolically granted Kyiv the status of "honorary citizen", which was the first country to do such a thing. Last year, the Garden of Kyiv appeared in the centre of Paris.

To mark the first anniversary of the full-scale war, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

On 28 March, Yaël Braun-Pivet, the head of the French National Assembly, arrived in Kyiv.