Macron announces coalition to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles
Photo by Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a "coalition" to provide Ukraine with "medium and long-range missiles and bombs."
Le Monde reported that 20 political leaders from the EU, the US, and Canada gathered in Paris on February 26 to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin Europe's determination to support Ukraine.
Macron called on European countries to "produce more" ammunition for Ukraine.
"Over the next ten days, we will make all these efforts. We have been in contact with many European and non-European countries that have ammunition," said the French president.
The French leader explained that Europe could only provide Ukraine with the ammunition it had in its warehouses in the short term.
"It is clear that we do not have the promised million ammunition," he admitted.
Macron also stated that partners on the sidelines of this meeting decided to "create a coalition for deep strikes and, therefore, missiles and bombs of medium and long-range."
Macron stressed that not all details of this initiative can be disclosed.
"Today, the initiatives we have put forward will be discussed, and in just ten days, you will receive a clear answer with a serious agenda," said the President of France.
What we know about the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine
Ukraine appealed to Germany with an official request to supply the Taurus long-range missiles on May 27 last year.
In November, the manufacturer, MBDA, which owns Taurus Systems, claimed that it could increase the production of Taurus missiles in the shortest possible time and integrate new technical achievements into them simultaneously.
The German Bundestag supported a proposal on February 22 prepared by leading parties about arms supplies to Ukraine, which included a call to provide long-range systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again spoke out against supplying Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles. In particular, he believes that if the country gives this weaponry to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, there is a risk that it could drag Germany into a war with Russia.
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the United States will first transfer German long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
The White House has officially confirmed the transfer of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in a modification with a range of 165 kilometers.
However, the version of the ATACMS missiles received by Ukraine has a limited range of action. American officials say this is enough to reach almost all the main military bases Russia uses.
