The Elysée did not specify how many tanks will be delivered or when.
PAris has promised Ukraine to deliver French-made AMX-10 RC light battle tanks to meet kyiv’s pressing needs to confront the Russian army, President Emmanuel Macron told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr on Wednesday. Zelensky.
“The president wanted to amplify the” military aid already provided to kyiv “by agreeing to deliver light combat tanks”, explained the French presidency after an hour-long telephone call between the two leaders. , stating that “this is the first time that tanks of Western design have been supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.
Ukraine’s European allies have delivered Soviet-designed tanks before, but never yet Western-built tanks, despite repeated requests from kyiv. Germany in particular is reluctant to deliver Leopard-2 combat tanks. Paris, for its part, does not currently intend to supply kyiv with its 56-ton Leclerc heavy tanks equipped with a gun with a range of 4,000 meters, of which the French Army has 200 copies. But France has deployed thirteen in Romania, to reinforce NATO’s eastern border.
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The AMX-10 RC, whose production started in the 1980s, are light tanks weighing nearly 25 tons equipped with 105 mm guns, mounted on wheels and not on tracks, therefore “very mobile”, “certainly old but efficient “, argues an adviser to the Elysée. The French Army, which has nearly 250 of them, is gradually replacing them with the next-generation Jaguar 25-ton class armored reconnaissance and combat vehicle.
The French and Ukrainian Defense Ministers will exchange “very quickly to define the modalities” of these deliveries, both on the deadlines and on the number of tanks, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces told AFP.
Other planned deliveries
According to Paris, Emmanuel Macron, who reaffirmed to Volodymyr Zelensky the “unwavering support” of France “until victory”, thus wanted to “demonstrate the durability and continuity” of French military aid. Discussions are also continuing between kyiv and Paris on sending other types of armored vehicles “to help them strengthen their protected transport and attack capacities with armored units”, it is argued in the entourage. of the French presidency.
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This announcement comes at a time when some voices in Europe sometimes claim that France provides too lukewarm support to Ukraine. A ranking by the Kiel Institute for the World economy in December places France in 10th position, behind the United Kingdom, Poland or Germany, for its military support for kyiv, provided mainly by the United States.
Since the start of the conflict in February, France has notably supplied 18 Caesar guns of 155 mm with a range of 40 km, mounted on trucks, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, forward-armoured vehicles (VAB), and more recently rocket launchers as well as Crotale missile batteries. Paris also plans to supply kyiv with six to twelve additional Caesar guns, taken from an order intended for Denmark. “We are still in discussion with Denmark, the subject is not closed,” commented the Elysée on Wednesday.
