According to a joint statement released after President Emmanuel Macron’s talks with the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, France will send dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks, including the AMX-10RCs battle vehicles, to Ukraine in the upcoming weeks.
Following a lengthy working dinner between Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky that lasted more than three hours, the French president made it clear that Paris was also focusing on boosting Kyiv’s air defense capabilities against Russian attacks.
A strong Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces is anticipated, therefore Zelensky made a quick weekend trip to several important European partners to rally military and financial support.
Zelenskyy stated in Berlin on Sunday that Kyiv and its allies might make a Russian defeat “irreversible” as early as this year after receiving a huge USD 2.7 billion additional military package from Germany over the weekend.
According to the statement, Macron assured his Ukrainian counterpart that Paris would continue to support Ukraine politically, financially, humanitarian, and militarily for as long as necessary.
Reporters were informed by a source in the French presidency that Ukraine will be given access to further, more advanced defensive equipment.
The source added that there is no question of delivering fighter jets to Kyiv, as it has requested.
The French AMX-10RCs vehicles can move swiftly and shift positions on the battlefield thanks to their excellent speed and maneuverability. Oleksii Reznikov, the defense minister of Ukraine, referred to them as “sniper rifles on… fast wheels.”
