In Niger, one of the representatives of the military authorities, General Amadou Ibro, said at a rally in the capital that the country should prepare for “war” with France, accusing Paris of attempting to destabilize the situation. His speech took place in a stadium in front of a young audience, and a video of the speech was widely shared on social media.
According to Jeune Afrique and AFP reports, Ibro, who is said to be the chief of staff of Niger’s leader Abderrahmane Tiani, claimed that France allegedly intends to wage war on Niger and, in this regard, called for preparations for conflict.
The French side rejected these claims. Colonel Guillaume Vernet, a representative of the French General Staff, stated that “French intervention in Niger is not being considered” and called the accusations an element of “information warfare.”
The rhetoric came amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Niamey and Paris following the 2023 military coup and the subsequent withdrawal of French troops from the country. At the end of January 2026, Niger’s leader Tiani also publicly accused the French leadership and a number of neighboring countries of involvement in the attack near Niamey airport, without providing any evidence.
Imports of trucks to Ukraine in January 2026 decreased by 45% in monetary terms compared to the same month in 2025, to $41.1 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, compared to December last year, imports of these vehicles fell by 2.5 times.
Most trucks last month were imported from France – $6.1 million (38.3% less than last year), but their share in total imports of these vehicles increased to 14.9% from 13.3%. Thailand was the second largest exporter with $4.7 million (11.4% share), followed by Lithuania with $4.6 million (11.26%).
In January last year, the top three truck suppliers were the United States, Germany, and France.
Imports of trucks from all other countries decreased by 10.3% to $25.7 million.
At the same time, according to statistics, Ukraine exported only $0.22 million worth of trucks in January, mainly to Turkey, and a year ago there were also insignificant export deliveries (worth $0.76 million), mainly to Romania.
As reported, in 2025, imports of trucks to Ukraine increased by 5.5% compared to 2024, to $999.5 million. with the largest imports coming from France ($169.2 million, up 42.8% from the previous year), Poland ($162.7 million, down 14.7%), and the United States ($109 million, up 2%).
FRANCE, freight vehicle, IMPORTS, LITHUANIA, THAILAND, TRUCK
France will transfer 150 generators to Ukraine in February and provide EUR71 million in financial support throughout 2026, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy reported on Wednesday, citing First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal.
“France is one of Ukraine’s key strategic partners in the energy sector,” he said after meeting with Nicolas Fourcaux, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Investment Attractiveness at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic.
During the meeting, Shmyhal thanked France for its support in attracting EUR 30 billion in energy assistance within the framework of EU macro-financial support and noted that 46 shipments of generators, transformers, and emergency equipment are already being used to restore the power system.
France intends to make Visio the single video communication platform for all ministries and government agencies by 2027, gradually phasing out the use of non-European solutions, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom, according to a statement on the government’s digital development strategy website.
David Amiel, Minister Delegate for Civil Service and State Reform, said the goal of the transition is to “end the use of non-European solutions” and ensure the security and confidentiality of public electronic communications through a “sovereign tool.”
According to the report, Visio was developed by the Interministerial Directorate for Digital Technologies (DINUM) and already has about 40,000 regular users, with deployment continuing to reach 200,000 employees. Among the first organizations to switch to Visio in the first quarter of 2026 are the CNRS, Assurance Maladie, the DGFIP tax service, and the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The CNRS plans to replace its Zoom licenses by the end of March.
It is noted that the solution is being implemented with the support of ANSSI, hosted on the Outscale cloud infrastructure (Dassault Systèmes group), certified by SecNumCloud, and includes AI features—in particular, transcription using technology from French startup Pyannote, as well as real-time subtitling based on Kyutai’s developments, planned for summer 2026.
In France, new requirements for a number of procedures related to multi-year residence permits, 10-year resident cards, and citizenship have come into force on January 1, 2026: language thresholds have been raised and a mandatory citizenship exam has been introduced.
According to explanations from French government resources, the first multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle) now requires proof of French language proficiency at a level of at least A2, and for the first 10-year residence card – no lower than B1 (in particular, for applicants under 65 years of age in categories covered by the rule).
For procedures for accessing French citizenship, from January 1, 2026, language requirements will be raised to level B2, according to information from the French Ministry of the Interior.
In addition, from January 1, 2026, passing the citizenship exam will become mandatory for naturalization, as well as for the first application for a long-term residence permit or resident card for citizens of non-EU countries. The exam lasts up to 45 minutes, includes 40 multiple-choice questions, and is considered passed with a score of at least 80% (at least 32 correct answers).
Service-Public specifies that the exam is not required when renewing a long-term card or residence card, and does not apply, in particular, to beneficiaries of international protection.
Imports of trucks to Ukraine in January-October 2025 increased by 8% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2024, reaching $819.5 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, the growth rate of imports of this type of vehicle has slowed down again, reaching 11.6% in the first 10 months compared to the same period in 2024.
In October, truck imports fell by 17% compared to October 2024, to $79.2 million, which is also a quarter less than in September 2025.
The largest number of trucks in 10 months was imported from Poland – $149.6 million (1.3% less than last year), France – $133.2 million (43.3% more) and the United States – $104.2 million (30.4% more).
Imports from all other countries in January-October decreased slightly, amounting to $432.6 million.
At the same time, according to statistics, Ukraine exported only $5.6 million worth of trucks in 10 months, mainly to Turkey (62.4% of exports), Romania (32.4%), and Moldova, while a year earlier, exports were even more insignificant ($2.8 million), mainly to Moldova, Poland, and Kazakhstan.
As reported, in 2024, imports of trucks to Ukraine in monetary terms increased by 30% compared to 2023, to $947.84 million, with most of them imported from Poland (almost 20%).
