Her announcement came after the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as she reiterated her "scepticism" over a move to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral banner at Paris 2024.

Oudéa-Castéra visited the Stade Couvert Arena in Liévin on Friday (February 24) where she met Ukrainian athletes that were based in France after fleeing their home country following the war.

"My Ministry is going to release specific aid of €1 million to enable the Ukrainian delegation which is going to these Olympic and Paralympic Games to be as well prepared as possible," said Oudéa-Castéra in a report by French newspaper Le Parisien.

"We want Ukraine to be embodied in the most beautiful way.

"We will identify the best way to make this aid as effective as possible."

Oudéa-Castéra was among a group of senior Government officials from 35 nations that signed a statement which raised "serious concerns" over the feasibility of plans to readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competition.

Athletes from the two countries have been largely banned in response to the war in Ukraine but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is exploring a pathway for them to compete under "strict conditions" of neutrality.

The collective statement from the 35 nations stressed that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to compete until the IOC had addressed "the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable neutrality model".

Oudéa-Castéra said there were currently "more questions than answers" on the controversial topic.

"For us, at this stage, the question of the participation of Russian athletes, even under a neutral banner, does not arise," said Oudéa-Castéra.

"[It] raises a whole series of questions which are very important to us and which today generate scepticism."

Oudéa-Castéra added that French President Emmanuel Macron would address the issue in the summer of 2023.

Macron faced criticism from Kyiv last year after claiming that Russia would need security guarantees as part of future negotiations to end the war, and he appears to have taken a softer stance towards Vladimir Putin than many of his Western counterparts, although France has backed European Union sanctions against Russia and provided military aid to Ukraine.

He has also been cited by IOC President Thomas Bach in outlining the organisation's stance, who has claimed he supports "athletes from all countries, sometimes including countries at war" being able to compete at major events.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is a strong critic of the IOC's plans for Russian and Belarusian inclusion at next year’s Olympics and Paralympics - a stance which she underlined during a visit to Kyiv earlier this month.

Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet has insisted that a final decision on Russian and Belarusian participation at the Games lies with the IOC.