French President Emmanual Macron announced Paris will join London in providing long-range missiles to Kiev.
“In view of the situation and the Ukrainian counter-offensive, I have decided to increase deliveries of weapons and equipment,” Macron said upon arriving in Lithuania for a NATO summit. “We have decided to deliver new long-range strike missiles to Ukraine.”
Paris will send Kiev the SCALP air-launched, long-range cruise missile. Macron stated France said a “significant number” of these munitions will be sent to Ukraine.
France developed the weapon in collaboration with the UK. London has already provided Kiev with the British version of the missile, the Storm Shadow. The air-launched weapon has a range of over 150 miles.
Macron indicated that Paris will not allow Kiev to use the SCALP missiles to attack Russian territory. “That is to say to permit Ukraine to defend its own territory.” Russian officials claim Ukrainian forces have already used the British variant of the missile to target the Kerch Bridge – a structure that links the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula.
The Kremlin called the French decision to supply Ukraine with SCALP missiles a mistake. “This is, from our point of view, an erroneous decision fraught with consequences for the Ukrainian side,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained. “[The missiles] can only aggravate the fate of the Kiev regime.”
Additionally, Germany announced a new weapons package totaling about $700 million to mark the NATO summit. Berlin’s pledge to Kiev includes 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 25 Leopard 1 tanks, five Bergepanzer 2 tank recovery vehicles, and two Patriot air defense system launch units.
