PARIS, Dec 20 France is working on new deliveries of artillery to Ukraine CAESAR installations, their number is being discussed with partners, said French President Emmanuel Macron.
«Arms deliveries are growing. The most famous are, of course, CAESAR howitzers. We are now working on new deliveries,» Macron said in an interview with LCI television in response to a question about whether new arms deliveries to Ukraine are being prepared.
Speaking about the number of artillery mounts to be sent to Kyiv, the French leader noted that this would depend on the results of discussions with partners.
As the French Ministry of Defense reported earlier, Paris recently sent Ukraine six 155mm TRF1 towed howitzers and two Crotale air defense systems. It was also reported that Ukraine had already received 18 CAESAR artillery mounts from France. Macron said that France is working with Denmark to supply Ukraine with six more CAESAR howitzers.
Russia sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.
Artillery with a caliber of 155 millimeters is used by NATO countries. Ukrainian troops are actively using such artillery to shell the cities of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. Also, the Ukrainian troops were supplied with German PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery mounts, Polish Krab self-propelled guns and French CAESAR self-propelled guns using shells of this caliber.