benjamin peter
modified to
07:55, January 23, 2023
At the Mont-de-Marsan military base in the Landes, French artillerymen recently welcomed Ukrainian soldiers to train them in the handling of the advanced equipment that Paris delivered to kyiv. Fighters who already displayed solid knowledge and unwavering motivation.
A hundred tanks, twenty guns including 18 Caesar and anti-aircraft defense systems. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, France has provided advanced material support to kyiv, for which the Ukrainian army had to be trained. Some soldiers even came to France to learn how to use these weapons. Europe 1 went to Mont-de-Marsan alongside French soldiers and gunners, surprised by the motivation and knowledge of the Ukrainian fighters.
An instructor at the artillery school, Captain Matthieu twice trained Ukrainian soldiers, notably in the handling of the famous Caesar cannon. He was struck by how quickly they were able to adapt. “They have a very good knowledge of fundamental artillery so once the technological gap is caught up, they were quite able to fulfill the mission. And I think it’s going very well for them now”, he testifies.
“They had many questions”
Captain Marine belongs to the first artillery regiment of Belfort. It welcomed about thirty Ukrainians to teach them the handling of two Unitary Rocket Launchers as well as artillery tanks of great range and great precision. And says she is very impressed by their thirst for learning.
A Caesar cannon
Credit: Benjamin Peter/Europe 1
“They were at the front shortly before arriving. They had many questions and wanted to know everything. They learned to drive in two weeks, they learned to shoot in two weeks. The goal was to win their war , it was impressive. They left with a smile. We gave them equipment which is competent which will allow them to destroy enemy artillery pieces or enemy radars and therefore to win some battles”, develops- she.
Videos of the two LRU tanks loaned to the Ukrainian army still regularly reach these soldiers who also hope, in the long term, to benefit from the feedback of this equipment in the field.