Ukraine will receive weapons from France worth €195 million. The deal will be paid for with interest from frozen Russian assets.
This was reported by the Minister of the Armed Forces of France Sebastian Lecornu.
According to him, the money will be spent on 155-mm artillery shells and AASM aerial bombs used by Mirage 2000 fighters.
France will accelerate the transfer of AMX-10RC light tanks and VAB armored personnel carriers.
France is strengthening its defense capabilities amid global instability. Armed Forces Minister Lecornu said that the current priorities are ammunition, electronic warfare, drones, robotics, artificial intelligence and space technology.
To support Ukraine and its own army, France is increasing the production of military equipment. Various defense companies plan to produce more weapons. For example, Dassault Aviation in 2024 produced two Rafale fighters per month — in 2026 they want to increase this number to four or five.
The number of manufactured Akeron MP anti-tank missiles will increase as early as 2025, and the production of AASM aerial bombs is planned to double by 2026. To this end, the government is expanding cooperation with two defense companies — Thales and EOS.
Frozen Russian assets
The value of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU is almost €211 billion. In total, the European Union, the G7 countries and Australia have frozen approximately €260 billion in securities and cash.
On October 23, the EU Council finally approved a loan of up to €35 billion to Ukraine. The money is the blocʼs contribution to the G7 initiative to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion (€45 billion) loan, which will be repaid with the proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
And on October 26, the G7 countries agreed to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine using the proceeds from Russiaʼs frozen assets.
The funds will be transferred "through various channels" — both to replenish the Ukrainian budget, and for military assistance and the restoration of Ukraineʼs infrastructure.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.