France to use interests from frozen Russian assets to supply Ukraine with artillery systems and shells

France has recovered 300 million euros as interests from frozen Russian assets and will use these funds to finance an additional 12 new Caesar self-propelled artillery systems for Ukraine.

The Minister of the French Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, stated this in an interview with La Tribune.

“We are mobilizing interest in frozen Russian assets to buy military equipment for Ukraine. France has recovered 300 million euros for this year-end in 2024 alone,” Sébastien Lecornu stressed.

In addition to the French-made Caesar artillery systems, the minister said, this military aid package will include additional supplies of 155-mm shells, Astra missiles for SAMP|T air defense systems, AASM-guided bombs, and missiles for Mistral air defense systems.

Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, France has reportedly delivered 60 Caesar air defense systems to Ukraine. By the end of 2024, this number will total 80 Caesar systems.

This does not include the 19 Caesar 6×6 systems previously supplied by Denmark.

The announcement of new equipment purchases for Ukraine comes at a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping for continued support from his allies to hold out against Russia. Since Moscow began an all-out war against Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine has been fighting against Russian invading troops.

It is important to note that KNDS will fulfill this order much faster due to an increase in artillery system production, which coincides with an increase in the total number of export orders. Nexter has reported a significant increase in the production rate of Caesar self-propelled howitzers to six units per month.

As part of the total order from export customers, the French company KNDS has a portfolio of orders for 353 Caesar wheeled self-propelled artillery systems. Among the largest customers are France (125 ordered SAUs) and Ukraine (72 ordered SAUs).