French self-propelled 155mm howitzers at the front in Ukraine. While separate NATO members have supplied Ukraine with military aid, there has been no unified decision from the Alliance as a whole. Credit: Snapshot from video by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense
France and Australia reached an agreement to supply 155-mm shells to Ukraine’s Armed Forces in order to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and the Minister of Defence of Australia Richard Marles announced on 30 January 2023.
France and Australia signed the agreement on the cooperation between the Australian and French defense industries that will allow them to jointly manufacture 15-mm shells.
“Several thousand 155mm shells will be manufactured jointly. The idea is to provide significant and continuous assistance,” Sebastien Lecornu said today.
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“This is part of the support efforts that Australia and France are providing to Ukraine to ensure that it is able to hold out in this conflict and end it on its own terms,” Richard Marles added.
The first delivery of the jointly manufactured shells will start in the first quarter of 2023, according to Lecornu.
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The 155-mm shells are fired by several Western artillery systems supplied to Ukraine earlier before, such as French-made self-propelled howitzers Caesar, American towed howitzers M777, or German-made self-propelled howitzers Panzerhaubitze 2000. Ukraine urgently needs more 155-mm shells to counter the intense Russian artillery fire that razes Ukrainian cities to the ground in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
Related:
- France sends more howitzers to Ukraine
- Zelenskyy thanks Macron for decision to supply “light tanks and Bastion APCs to Ukraine”
- German Rheinmetall ready to boost production of tank and artillery rounds
- Ukraine asks for longer range missiles, necessary for counteroffensive
Tags: Australia, France, military aid to Ukraine, Russia invasion of Ukraine, Russia-Ukraine war
