France has supplied Ukraine with rocket launchers and Crotale air defense systems and will deliver more weapons early next year, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Dec. 20, as cited by France 24.
He said that, among other weapons, France would deliver additional Caesar mobile artillery units.
Macron didn’t specify the amount of Caesars to be provided, according to the publication.
“We are also working with the defense minister (Sebastien Lecornu) to be able to deliver useful arms and ammunition again in the first quarter (of 2023) so that the Ukrainians would be able to defend themselves against bombardments,” Macron said.
Lecornu told Le Journal du Dimanche on Nov. 20 that France had given Ukraine 18 Caesar howitzers and 550 million euros ($569 million) worth of military aid, making France the fifth-biggest contributor to Ukraine.
On Dec. 3, Macron said that if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin agrees to negotiations to end Russia’s war, the West should consider providing Russia with guarantees in the future security architecture.
Macron’s statement outraged Ukrainian officials, including Ukraine’s chief negotiator with Russia, lawmaker David Arakhamia.
Arakhamia said that Kyiv is ready to provide Russia with security guarantees after it withdraws its troops from Ukraine, pays reparations, brings all war criminals to justice, and voluntarily surrenders nuclear weapons.
