France will soon provide 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine - media

French Defence Minister Sebastien Le Coronneu said that Paris will soon supply Ukraine with 78 Caesar howitzers of 155 mm calibre and artillery shells, which should help the Ukrainian Armed Forces partially meet its urgent need for ammunition.

Source. This was reported by the Associated Press.

In addition, Lecorneuil told reporters that the French, Ukrainian and Danish authorities have agreed to jointly finance the supply of howitzers, which will allow them to be sent to Kyiv quickly.

This year, France also intends to provide Ukraine with 80,000 artillery shells, while since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Paris has provided Kyiv with only 30,000 shells, the agency writes.

In addition, according to the defence minister, France is participating in the Czech Republic's initiative to search for and buy ammunition outside Europe. Prague intends to purchase 800,000 artillery shells for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The Ukrainian authorities and Western military experts point out that one of the main reasons for the relative success of the Russian army in Ukraine was the lack of ammunition on the Ukrainian side.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces began to feel the shortage particularly acutely against the backdrop of the failure of the US Congress to approve the next aid package for Ukraine and the lack of promised supplies from Europe, the publication notes.

Background. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the French-German howitzer manufacturer Caesar will open a unit in Ukraine. The company will produce ammunition "closer to the front line".