Defence minister Sébastien Lecornu has confirmed France will deliver hundreds of old armoured vehicles and new surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine for its war against Russia, reports RFI.
In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, Lecornu said that President Emmanuel Macron – following talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy – had asked him to prepare a new aid package, which will include old but still functional French equipment.
"The Ukrainian army needs to defend a very long front line, which requires armoured vehicles; this is absolutely crucial for troop mobility and is part of the Ukrainian requests," he told the newspaper.
He said France was looking at providing hundreds of VAB (Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé) front-line troop carriers in 2024 and early 2025.
France's army is gradually replacing its thousands of VABs, which first went into operation in the late 1970s, with a new multi-role troop carrier.