France to Use Proceeds From Frozen Russian Assets to Maintain Caesar Howitzers in Ukraine

France will use revenue generated from frozen Russian assets to fund the maintenance of Caesar self-propelled howitzers supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Foreign Minister of France Jean-Noël Barrot said this on Friday during a visit to Lviv, according to Le Figaro.

The 155 mm wheeled artillery systems, produced by Franco-German defense group KNDS, were transferred to Ukraine as part of the international artillery coalition supporting Kyiv’s war effort.

“We will soon announce that, thanks to the mobilization of proceeds from frozen shares, France will be able — via KNDS — to ensure the operational maintenance of the Caesar howitzers it delivered to Ukraine to help repel Russian attacks,” Barrot said.

The announcement follows the European Union’s 2024 decision to channel windfall revenues from immobilized Russian sovereign assets into military support for Ukraine.

In June 2024, KNDS formally established a subsidiary in Ukraine and later announced the creation of a maintenance center for Caesar systems. According to Le Monde, as of early 2025, Ukraine receives 90% of all barrels produced for the Caesar platform. France has also ramped up production of the system to meet demand.

Caesar for Ukraine

France launched an “artillery coalition” for Ukraine in January 2024, co-chaired by French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umierov.

Under the coalition, Paris committed to supplying 78 Caesar systems.

By October 2024, KNDS had secured a contract to deliver 12 Caesar units to Ukraine, financed using Ukrainian budgetary funds. Later that month, French media outlet BFM TV reported that France would deliver an additional 12 Caesar systems, funded by €300 million from Russian asset proceeds.

The French Ministry of Armed Forces said in October 2024 that it had already transferred 60 Caesar systems to Ukraine since 2022. That figure was expected to rise to 80 by the end of 2024.