French Army soldiers operate on a Caesar (a truck equipped with an artillery system) during a firing practice in Canjuers (Var) in October 2021. NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
This will be the priority of diplomatic priorities, regardless of the outcome of the presidential elections on Sunday April 24: whether Emmanuel Macron begins a second term or whether a transition in favor of Marine Le Pen is looming in the Elysée Palace, the war in Ukraine will continue to weigh on the French executive after plaguing election debates. Two months into the Russian invasion, the Donbass threatens to flare up and the siege of Mariupol never ends.
On the last day of the campaign, Friday April 22, the outgoing president tried to prepare people for this new phase of the war, which is no less risky and uncertain than the first, despite the failure of Russian President Vladimir Putin in his attempt to seize Kyiv . While the topic has been taboo until now, Emmanuel Macron admitted in an interview with the Ouest-France daily that France was supplying Kyiv with Milanese anti-tank missiles and Caesar guns. It’s to meet relentless calls for military aid from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is keen to obtain heavy weapons to bolster his country’s resistance to the Russian invader.
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The Elysée Palace did not want to provide any information on the planned quantities, but stated that these materials came from the stocks of the French armed forces. A few dozen Milan have already been delivered, Le Monde announced on March 9th. The Caesars – of which the army has just 76 examples left – are scheduled to be deployed in Ukraine by the end of the month. They will be accompanied by tens of thousands of grenades. Meanwhile, around forty Ukrainian soldiers were due to arrive in France on Saturday April 23 to practice using these truck-mounted 155mm guns with a range of 40km.
Red line
The head of state’s statement comes a week after French authorities began lifting the veil over their arms shipments, at a time when all of Ukraine’s allies, starting with the United States, are stepping up their aid ahead of high-intensity fighting in Donbass. France says it has donated €100 million worth of military equipment since hostilities began. A corresponding amount is to be made available in the coming weeks. “I think we have to continue on this path. With always a red line not to enter into joint warfare,” Macron told Ouest-France. A red line that, according to Paris, excludes the deployment of fighter jets and tanks.
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