France to donate €200 million in military aid to Ukraine

The French government announced the allocation of an additional €200 million for the Ukrainian army support fund, used to finance arms purchases.

Franceinfo reported on this with reference to the French Minister of the Armed Forces.

On November 7, Sébastien Lecornu announced that France would donate €200 million to the fund of support for Ukraine.

“We voted in favor of an amendment in the committee that opens up the possibility of allocating another €200 million for the Ukraine support fund. This will allow us to start implementing a new strategy to purchase new equipment for the Ukrainian army,” the Minister shared.

This is a special fund created by France in October 2022 to finance Ukraine’s military needs.

It allows Ukraine to purchase weapons directly from French manufacturing enterprises and work with the French defense industry.

Engaging the fund

Earlier this year, Ukraine ordered a Ground Master 200 (GM200) mobile aerial target detection radar from the French company Thales. The purchase was financed from a special Ukraine support fund.

This radar can operate independently or in cooperation with Western air defense systems. It can be integrated into the SAMP/T air defense system, also provided to Ukraine.

In addition, since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has started purchasing large batches of 155mm artillery round hulls from the French plant Forges de Tarbes.

On June 13, the Forges de Tarbes plant received an order to supply 60,000 hulls for the production of 155-mm rounds to be delivered in 2024.

It is not reported whether the ordered parts of artillery ammunition will go to European enterprises for further assembly or will be delivered to Ukraine.

However, in August, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries, announced his intention to launch production of NATO-standard 155-mm artillery rounds by the end of 2023.