2023-05-15 09:33:45
France will equip several Ukrainian battalions with dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks
France will train and equip several Ukrainian battalions, the two countries announced on Sunday evening following a dinner in Paris between Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky.
“In the coming weeks, France will train and equip several battalions with dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks, including AMX-10RCs”is it specified in a joint statement.
Paris had undertaken, at the very beginning of the year, to give Ukraine AMX-10 RC, light and fast tanks. The announcements made on Sunday are new, noted an adviser from the Elysée, without further details. France is also concentrating its “Efforts on supporting the air defense capabilities of Ukraine”, underlines the joint declaration. It has already delivered Mistral short-range and Crotale medium-range anti-aircraft systems and is examining with Italy the delivery of more sophisticated SAMP/T ground-to-air systems, the Elysée recalled.
“In addition to its national contribution, France is actively participating in European Union and NATO measures in terms of military assistance to Ukraine and training of Ukrainian soldiers”, added the joint statement of the two countries. Over the year 2023, it aims to train 2,000 Ukrainians in France and nearly 4,000 in Poland where it has deployed more than 200 soldiers for this purpose.
On the diplomatic field, the two presidents spoke out in favor of new sanctions and for the continued strengthening of ties between Ukraine on the one hand, NATO and the European Union on the other.
“Ukraine and France agree on the need to increase our collective pressure on Russia through new sanctions in order to weaken the ability of this country to continue its illegal war of aggression”say the two countries.
“The future of Ukraine and its people is within the European family. The European Union has already recognized Ukraine’s European perspective and granted it the status of a candidate country”says the declaration which adds that France “awaits with interest the report of the European Commission to start the accession negotiations”.
France reaffirms, in this text, Ukraine’s right to choose its security arrangements and wants to help “Ukraine to continue its path towards the Euro-Atlantic family”is it written.
Volodymyr Zelensky stopped over in Paris on Sunday evening, as part of a mini European tour which also took him to Italy and Germany over the weekend.
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