Victoria Tokareva22:16, 28.12.22

Ukraine and France have agreed to start a new program to train Ukrainian Air Force officers to master the new air defense system.

In France , a fund has been created through which orders from Ukraine for the military-industrial complex will be accepted.

The country has already chosen several directions to help Ukraine overcome Russian aggression, he said .  French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornuafter meeting with Ukrainian colleague Alexey Reznikov. 

“We discussed the military needs of Ukraine for the coming weeks and 2023. France has chosen several areas for assistance to Ukraine. Firstly, this is the transfer of French Armed Forces equipment to the Ukrainian army at the beginning of next year. The second direction of assistance is the European Peace Fund, which is an important tool, strength and power of Europe to support Ukraine. France makes a large contribution to this fund – 500 million euros. And the third direction is the fund created in France, through which Ukraine can address the order to the French military-industrial complex,” Lecornu said.

He added that between the armed forces of Ukraine and France there is a constant exchange of information. Lecornu also stressed that the experience of Ukrainian defenders is also important for the French Armed Forces. Therefore, according to him, during the military exercises, there is an exchange of experience at the same time, and the knowledge and skills of Ukrainian military personnel are very valuable and useful.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine informed his colleague about the current situation on the war fronts and noted that Western, and, in particular, French weapons are one of the important factors that help Ukraine destroy the enemy and protect the Ukrainian sky from Russian missiles.

“Today we have focused on the list of Ukraine’s priorities in order to win this war. This concerns air defense, anti-missile, anti-drone defense to protect our skies, increasing the amount of 155-caliber heavy artillery and ammunition. After all, the powerful Caesar guns that are used on the battlefield, they need high-quality shells,” Reznikov said.

According to him, the Ukrainian Defense Forces also need armored vehicles.

“In addition, we agreed to start a new training program for our Air Force officers to train and master a new air defense system, which we will report on later. The role of the French Republic is one of the key ones in the overall fight against Russian aggression to protect universal European values,” he stressed. Reznikov.

The interlocutors also touched upon the issues of accounting and transparency of military assistance. The representatives of the foreign delegation were presented with a briefing on the implementation of the LOGFAS logistics system, which allows monitoring the supply and movement of Western weapons and international technical assistance to Ukraine. Also, attention was focused on the issues of rehabilitation and treatment of Ukrainian servicemen in medical institutions in France and the beginning of long-term projects with French defense companies.

Military aid from France 

In November, Ukraine received Crotale anti-aircraft systems from France to protect the sky.

On December 1, US Presidents Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged in a joint statement to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and equipment needed to repair power facilities damaged by enemy attacks.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on December 20 that France plans to send new Caesar 155mm self-propelled artillery mounts and other defense aid to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2023.

(c)UNIAN 2022