For first time, France talks openly about sending weapons to Ukraine
France has been tight-lipped about what it is sending to Ukraine, until a few days after President Emmanuel Macron won a second term.
By CHRISTINA MACKENZIE
on May 05, 2022 at 9:41 AM
PARIS: Breaking the self-imposed silence on what weapons it is providing to Ukraine, France confirmed on April 29 it is loaning 12 Caesar truck-mounted guns and gifting several tens of thousands of shells and Milan anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was re-elected for a second five-year term on April 24, told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in an hour-long telephone conversation on April 30 that French military support and humanitarian aid would “continue to increase.” In addition, the French experts’ mission contributing to gathering proof of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine “will be prolonged” according to a statement released after the two heads of state spoke.
It is perhaps not coincidence that France is being open, for the first time, about its weapon shipments to Ukraine now that Macron is now longer fending off a political challenge from euro-skeptic Marine Le Pen. After the French election Macron said that during his second mandate he would “actively work to re-establishing Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through close coordination with our European partners and allies.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/05/for-first-time-france-talks-openly-about-sending-weapons-to-ukraine/
