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Minister: France to double supply of 155 mm ammunition to Ukraine

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Minister: France to double supply of 155 mm ammunition to Ukraine
Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of Armed Forces of France, speaks at the press conference with the German Defense Minister after the joint talks on Sept. 22, 2022. (Carsten Koall/picture alliance via Getty Images)

France will double its supply of 155 mm shells to Ukraine, bringing it to 2,000 per month, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu told Le Figaro in an interview published on March 28.

Ukraine's military uses 155 mm projectiles in the French Caesar self-propelled howitzers and the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers.

Lecornu also said, cited by French TV channel BFM Business, that France would "very soon" deliver SAMP/T air defense systems it had pledged to send to Ukraine in a joint effort with Italy. Ukrainian troops have already finished training on these systems, Italian news outlet ANSA reported on March 19.

Russia's full-scale invasion left the European defense industry unable to rapidly meet expected EU orders for Ukraine.

On March 20, EU foreign and defense ministers approved an initiative to jointly provide 1 million rounds of 155 mm ammunition to Ukraine.

However, explosives shortages and production capability may hinder Ukraine's supply schedule for ammunition, according to the Financial Times.

According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine is firing an average of 110,000 155mm-caliber shells a month — a quarter of the amount used by Russia.

The Telegraph: France accused of stalling EU plan to replenish Ukraine’s ammunition stocks
France was accused of slowing down the European Union’s plan to ramp up ammunition supply to Ukraine by demanding that the shells be produced within the bloc, the Telegraph reported on March 15, citing unnamed EU sources.
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