France delivers 2 Crotale missile systems to Ukraine: Defense Minister
The French Defense Minister says France is considering Ukraine's request related to the delivery of radars.
-
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu (AFP)
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday that France has supplied Ukraine with two short-range surface-to-air missile systems Crotale and is considering a delivery of radars.
"[We have supplied Ukraine with] two Crotale systems. We are also considering Ukraine's request related to the delivery of radars ... We have also supplied multiple launch rocket systems for carrying out ground attacks," Lecornu told French magazine Le Journal du Dimanche.
France has already supplied Ukraine with 18 self-propelled 155-mm caliber artillery units, Caesar, from the army's reserves.
In September, French media reported that France would also supply Ukraine with self-propelled 155-mm guns, TRF1, which are no longer used by the French military.
In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in October that France is working with Denmark on supplying Ukraine with six more Caesar howitzers.
French Politician warns of Zelensky attempts to provoke World War
In the same context, the head of the party Debout la France (France Arise) and a former French presidential candidate, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, advised Paris to halt its supplies for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following his effort to ignite a third World war.
"Zelensky, sending a missile to Poland and blaming the Russians for this, almost provoked World War III! Stop supporting this dangerous man. It is necessary to urgently find a plan to return to peace," Dupont-Aignan tweeted.
The official stressed that the peace plan is the only conceivable solution to the Ukrainian conflict and should include a ceasefire.
Le Pen: Ukraine is not advancing peace, French arms impeding talks
Similarly, right-wing French politician Marine Le Pen suggested in mid-November that Ukraine's victories on the battlefield were not advancing peace, warning that French arms deliveries could impede peace and negotiations with Russia.
"One should be very naive to think that Ukrainian victories can put an end to the war… I believe that this war must end and I think — the president said it too several weeks ago — that diplomacy is the solution, not military force," she told France Inter radio.
She warned that the war in Ukraine could last for "an extremely long time" unless France stops supplying increasingly heavy weapons to Ukrainian troops.
"I believe that the weapons we deliver to Ukraine are prolonging the war and my fear is that, since we are supplying weapons, we are no longer really looking for a negotiated solution," Le Pen continued.
