French Defence Minister discusses military aid plans for Ukraine in 2023 while in Kyiv

Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of Defence of France, visited Kyiv for the first time, where he met his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to discuss Ukraine’s military needs. 

Source: Lecornu during the joint press conference with Reznikov, quoted by European Pravda citing AFP.

Details: According to Lecornu, presidents of Ukraine and France have previously agreed on making amendments for January 2023 and "review the joint agenda" regarding French military support. Lecornu has discussed the "tactical and strategic situation" on the battlefield in Ukraine as well as the "needs of the Ukrainian army for the next several weeks" with Reznikov. 

Moreover, the French Defence Minister has mentioned the innovation fund, which contains €200 million and was created by Paris. It allows Ukraine to purchase equipment directly from French manufacturers according to Kyiv’s priorities in the fight against the Russian army. 

Another topic of discussion between Lecornu and Reznikov was repairing the Western military equipment damaged in battles. 

"Maintenance of what has already been given to Ukraine is just as important as new equipment is," the French Defence Minister said. He has also added that Paris is considering supplying Kyiv with a bigger number of anti-aircraft missile systems. 

Lecornu’s visit to Kyiv is happening soon after French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his intent to send new French weapons to Ukraine and announced new deliveries for 2023. It is known that planned deliveries will contain Caesar self-propelled artillery units, but Macron has not specified their quantity.

At the end of November, the fourth LRU multiple-launch rocket system arrived in Ukraine from France. 

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