According to France’s defence minister, Ukraine has purchased six Caesar howitzers and will be receiving 50 precision-guided missiles per month from France to aid in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Sebastien Lecornu, speaking to France Inter radio, also revealed that Caesar manufacturer Nexter has halved the production time of the howitzer to 15 months, resulting in 78 units being available this year.
This marks Ukraine’s first purchase of French-made weapons since the war began. Lecornu stated that the six howitzers were bought for between 3 million and 4 million euros each. In addition, France will spend 50 million euros from a fund created for Ukraine to purchase an additional 12 Caeser canons to be sent to Kyiv.
Lecornu expressed hope that allies would contribute to the purchase of 60 Caesars for around 285 million euros, emphasizing the goal to share the financial burden among European countries.
Although Ukraine’s defence minister was supposed to attend a conference in Paris on improving artillery supplies, the visit was cancelled, with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov addressing the gathering by video conference to highlight the pressing issue of ammunition shortage faced by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy conveyed his gratitude to French President Emmanuel Macron for committing to the production of dozens of Caesar howitzers and ammunition this year. Macron is set to visit Ukraine in February to finalize a deal for the delivery of more sophisticated weaponry and provide long-term political, aid, and reconstruction commitments.
Macron stated that Europeans would increase their support for Ukraine in the coming weeks, allowing it to continue defending itself nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Lecornu also announced that France would deliver approximately 50 precision-guided A2SM missiles per month to Ukraine from January, and the country would also start producing 3,000 155 mm shells a month, up from just 2,000 in 2023, in order to provide the necessary ammunition for Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have reported using between 5,000 to 15,000 shells per day.($1 = 0.9193 euros)
(Additional reporting by Thomas Balmforth; Editing by Ros Russell and Mark Potter)
