Ukraine is requesting France's most modern tank, the Leclerc

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Dec 2022 20:14

Ukraine is again asking for more weapons, but this time insists that they meet "NATO standards", according to Ukraine's Prime Minister.

French Leclerc tanks

The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, said on Monday that Kiev is requesting to purchase tanks that meet NATO standards, with specific emphasis on the French Leclerc tanks.

"We are asking for tanks ... according to NATO standards," he said in an interview with the French television channel LCI.

On December 10, the European Council announced on Saturday that it was approving a package of documents allowing the European Union to provide Ukraine with $18.9 billion of credit support in 2023.

Florian Philippot, the leader of the french far-right movement The Patriots, described on Saturday France's continuation in supplying weapons to Ukraine at a time when the French army lacks weapons as "total madness".

"Military stocks have generally disappeared...!" But we continue to send weapons and ammunition to Zelensky! Let's stop this total madness!" Philippot wrote on Twitter.

On Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement that the bloc had run out of military stockpiles as it provided Ukraine with an overwhelming amount of military support.

"This war has [...] been a wake-up call for all of us about our military capabilities. We have given weapons to Ukraine, but in so doing, we realized that our military stockpiles have been depleted. With conventional war returning to the heart of Europe, we also realized that we are lacking critical defense capabilities, to be able to protect ourselves from a higher level of threats on the European continent itself," he said in a statement.

Earlier today, the White House reported that US President Joe Biden has reaffirmed his allegiance to supporting Ukraine during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

"President Biden highlighted how the US is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance, including the December 9 announcement of $275 million in additional ammunition and equipment that included systems to counter the Russian use of unmanned aerial vehicles. President Biden also highlighted the November 29 announcement of $53 million to support energy infrastructure to strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s energy grid in the wake of Russia’s targeted attacks," the White House said on Sunday.