France to double howitzer ammunition supply to Ukraine

France plans to send up to 2,000 155-mm shells to Ukraine monthly, twice as much as before, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu told Le Figaro in an interview.

The European Pravda reports that the Ukrainian defenders use 155 mm projectiles, particularly in the French Caesar howitzers and the German Pz 2000 systems.

"Paris will supply the ground equipment necessary for Ukraine's counteroffensive: we are doubling the supply of 155-millimeter shells to 2,000 per month from the end of March," Lecornu emphasized, adding that Paris will also "very soon" provide Ukraine with the promised SAMP/T air defense system because the Ukrainian military has already been trained on it.

In February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Kyiv uses more ammunition of the specified caliber than the Alliance can produce.

As Rubryka reported, the leaders of the European Union welcomed the plan to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery ammunition over the next 12 months at the March 23 summit. The EU agreed on a plan to purchase ammunition for Ukraine.

It was reported that 20 countries have already joined the strengthening of support for Ukraine by the European Defense Agency, namely the project on the joint production of 155-caliber ammunition.

European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Thierry Breton said that EU countries have already accumulated ammunition in their warehouses, so it is time to give it to Ukraine.

Polish munitions manufacturer Dezamet said it would significantly increase ammunition production capacity to ensure supplies to Ukraine.

At the beginning of March, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, reported that Ukraine currently uses an average of 110,000 155 mm ammunition per month.