France will supply Ukraine at war with Russia with 12 additional 155 mm Caesar guns, in addition to the 18 pieces already delivered, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu announced on Tuesday during a joint press conference with his counterpart. Ukrainian Oleksiy Reznikov. These 12 medium-range guns will be delivered “in the coming weeks” and will be “financed as part of the support fund of 200 million euros” set up by France, said the minister.
They will be added to the 18 Caesars already delivered by France – one of which is out of use – as well as the 19 Caesar guns promised by Denmark in kyiv in mid-January.
A mass of Casear guns “which is not negligible”
Copenhagen had ordered these artillery pieces from the French group Nexter between 2017 and 2019. But deliveries have been delayed and only a few copies have already been delivered. “We are now on a mass (of Caesar) which is not negligible”, commented Sébastien Lecornu. France also promised on Tuesday to deliver to Ukraine a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar produced by French Thales. This medium-range radar makes it possible to detect an enemy aircraft at 250 km and to engage it at 100 km, whether it flies at low speed and low altitude like drones or at high altitude like combat planes.
It also provides protection against rockets and artillery fire by alerting ground troops of enemy fire, assures its manufacturer, who has sold more than 60 copies worldwide. It is transportable on a truck. Paris has also “engaged in discussions with our allies to ensure that we always have a sufficient stock” of French Crotale surface-to-air missiles for Ukraine, underlined Sébastien Lecornu.
No specific request for possible combat aircraft
The Crotale has been supplied to some fifteen countries, including Greece, Finland and South Korea. “This material helps us to get closer to the day of our victory. The Rattlesnakes destroy 100% of the targets so it is very important to close the Ukrainian sky”, commented the Ukrainian Minister of Defense. Finally, the French Minister for the Armed Forces announced the dispatch of 150 French soldiers to Poland to train Ukrainian soldiers.
On the chapter of combat aircraft, demanded by kyiv from its Western allies, the Ukrainian minister did not make a specific request to France. “We didn’t talk about the type of plane”, like the French Mirage, he underlined. “We have just emphasized that tactical aviation is a component of anti-aircraft defence” and “we need to strengthen our capabilities to defend our airspace”, he added.
“I am optimistic” about eventually obtaining Western fighter jets and “I hope it will be sooner possible”, he concluded, as President Joe Biden put a veto on Monday on the delivery of American F-16s.