Cruise missiles, humanitarian ship, and more: France's aid sent to Ukraine

Contents:

• Weapons deliveries
• Energy support
• Humanitarian aid and demining

Weapons deliveries

France began providing military support immediately after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Within a few days of the war, Paris sent Milan anti-tank systems and Mistral portable anti-aircraft missile systems to Kyiv. These weapons were essential to stop the advance of Russian troops.

A few months later, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of the first batch of CAESAR self-propelled artillery systems, which are still being supplied in large quantities. This artillery system is known for its long-range capability, as it can strike at a distance of up to 54 km.

In the summer of 2022, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu announced the transfer of VAB armored personnel carriers and Exocet anti-ship missiles to Ukraine. Later, it became known that Ukraine had received 155-mm TRF1 self-propelled howitzers, M270 multiple launch rocket systems (LRU version), and Crotale short-range anti-aircraft missile systems from France.

In early 2023, Macron announced that France would provide Ukraine with several dozen AMX-10RC wheeled tanks, which were used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a counteroffensive in the south of Ukraine a few months later.

In July 2023, France announced the transfer of high-precision long-range cruise missiles SCALP-EG to Ukraine. They are actively used to strike the military facilities of the Russian army on the seized territory of Ukraine.

In February this year, France signed a document on security guarantees with Ukraine, which provides for long-term assistance. In March, the French Defense Ministry said that during the war they had transferred 2.6 billion euros worth of military equipment to Ukraine, and another 1.2 billion euros were sent to the European Peace Fund. Thus, Ukraine received at least 3.8 billion euros of military aid from France.

Energy support

France began providing energy support to Ukraine at the end of 2022 when the Russian army began launching missile strikes on critical infrastructure. At that time, Paris sent 100 medium-capacity generators to Kyiv to help it pass the heating season.

Later, the Ministry of Energy reported that France had sent 22 shipments of energy equipment to Ukraine with a total weight of 183 tons. These include generators of various capacities, circuit breakers, workwear, and gas equipment.

Last summer, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that the Ukrainian energy sector would be restored with the introduction of innovative developments and technologies, referring to France. In February of this year, it became known that France was expressing interest in cooperating with Ukraine in the nuclear sector.

According to Halushchenko, such cooperation would strengthen the energy security of Ukraine, France, and the whole of Europe by reducing dependence on the Russian nuclear industry. Later, the Ukrainian government decided to raise €200 million in grants from France to restore critical infrastructure.

Humanitarian aid and demining

Paris has been providing humanitarian support to Kyiv since the first days of the war. For example, in March 2022, the official representative of the French Foreign Ministry announced the government's decision to allocate 100 million euros to help people affected by the war in Ukraine.

A little later it became known that local French organizations sent humanitarian convoys to Ukraine, which included milk, baby food, medical equipment and an ambulance.

In September 2022, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that her country would send a ship with more than 1,000 tons of humanitarian cargo to Ukraine. In 2023, the Ukrainian Economy Ministry said that France has a number of proposals on humanitarian demining and intends to send an adviser to its embassy in Ukraine to deal with these issues.