France will supply Ukraine with military aid in the coming weeks, including missiles financed mainly by revenues from frozen Russian assets, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.
"The majority of missiles that will be sent from France to Ukraine in the coming weeks, Caesar howitzers, Mistral missiles and Aster missiles. They will now be financed largely by revenues from frozen Russian assets. This is also a diplomatic victory and a significant victory for our budget," he said at a press conference following a meeting of the defence ministers of Poland, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany.
As many as 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers trained by France have gone back to Ukraine to take part in military operations, Lecornu said.
At the same time, the minister announced France's readiness to continue training Ukrainian military personnel and pointed out the need to increase the capacity to train such brigades.
Earlier, Lecornu said that the income from frozen Russian assets in 2024 amounted to 300 million euros ($314.3 million). According to the minister, this made it possible to purchase 12 new Caesar howitzers, which will be delivered to Ukraine, as well as 155-mm shells, Aster missiles, AASM guided bombs, firing points and Mistral missiles.
The minister also stated that military aid to Ukraine in 2024 will exceed 2 billion euros. According to Lecornu, the deliveries of the fighters promised to Kiev will be carried out in the first quarter of 2025. The aircraft, according to him, will be equipped with new air-to-ground weapons. In addition, he recalled that France continued to train Ukrainian pilots and mechanics.
Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement, directly involving NATO countries in the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Kremlin stated that pumping weapons into Ukraine by the West did not contribute to negotiations and would have a negative effect.
Sputnik