Europe 1 with AFP 3:33 p.m., December 25, 2022
To demonstrate France's continued support, the French Minister for the Armed Forces will travel to Ukraine on Wednesday 28 December.
This is Sébastien Lecornu's first trip to kyiv since the launch of the Russian offensive on February 24th.
The French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu will travel to Ukraine on Wednesday December 28 to testify to France's continued support, we learned on Sunday from the French Ministry for the Armed Forces.
"He will notably pay homage to the dead at the Heroes' monument in kyiv and will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiy Reznikov," the same source said, without further details on the program for security reasons.
This is the French minister's first trip to Ukraine since the launch of the Russian offensive on February 24, it was also added.
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Paris will continue its arms deliveries in early 2023
France, which organized an international conference on December 13 in support of Ukraine, insists that it remains ready to provide all its humanitarian and military support to kyiv.
French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that France had recently delivered rocket launchers and Crotale missile batteries to Ukraine.
He also added that Paris would continue its arms deliveries in early 2023, in an interview with TF1 and LCI broadcast last Tuesday.
Among the deliveries envisaged are those of new Caesar guns.
Emmanuel Macron has not advanced on any figures, indicating that "it will depend (it) on the discussions" in progress with Denmark.
Since the start of the conflict in February, France has notably provided 18 Caesar guns of 155 mm with a range of 40 km, mounted on trucks, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles as well as forward armored vehicles (VAB ).
Paris now plans to supply kyiv with six to 12 additional Caesar guns, taken from an order for Denmark.