William Molinie
modified to
11:43 a.m., February 10, 2023
The visit was highly symbolic. Volodymyr Zelensky was at the Special European Council on Thursday to talk about the conflict and ask for support from the European Union. A call heard by Europe, which wishes to deliver heavy weapons, and pay new aid, after a year already to support kyiv in the face of Russian aggression. But what about France?
As far as artillery is concerned, 18 Caesar guns at 5 million euros each have already been delivered by Paris. Twelve others will be in the coming days. France sent six TRF1 towed guns, howitzers with a range of 30 kilometers and around thirty AMX10RC combat tanks. We must also add forward armored vehicles, VABs, the exact number of which is kept secret.
On the anti-aircraft defense side, Paris provided two units of the unitary rocket launcher, two Crotales, short-range surface-to-air missile systems and a medium-range radar, the GM200, manufactured by Thales. To this must be added ammunition, necessarily limited in number because the stocks of the armies are meager.
Aid estimated at 7.4 billion euros
Paris has also supplied Ukraine with fuel. And gave equipment to the fighters: helmets, bulletproof vests, night vision binoculars, medical equipment… The amount of the overall envelope is not known. Mainly for security reasons, which would give indications on the number of vehicles, we say at the Elysée.
“There is also the whole immaterial field, in particular aid in cyber matters, which is complicated to quantify”, specifies a source well versed in military budgets. The only existing figure based on what has been announced, that of the very serious Kiel Institute. He estimates it at around 7.4 billion euros.
To this must be added the special support fund for Ukraine amounting to 200 million euros. According to our information, 80% have already been consumed. So, the latter could soon be reassessed upwards.