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France will use interest from frozen Russian assets to fund an additional €195 million in arms for Ukraine, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.
Lecornu told La Tribune in an interview published Sunday that Paris will provide the Ukrainian army with older equipment from the French army, in particular AMX-10RC tanks and armored front-end vehicles.
“In addition, this year, thanks to the interests of frozen Russian assets, we will mobilize a new envelope of €195 million, which will make it possible to supply 155-mm shells as well as AASM glide bombs that arm the Ukrainian Mirage 2000s,” Lecornu added.
After the publication of the interview, a response came from Russia: “You will still have to answer for your actions and return what was stolen,” Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.
Last year, the G7 countries agreed to provide Ukraine with $50 billion via a series of bilateral loans that Kyiv could pay off using windfall profits from frozen Russian state assets.
In the interview, Lecornu also noted that he considers the U.S. an ally of France, “despite its great unpredictability,” and he called for calm, even while Europe faces a threat from Russia.
“I’m not one of those who say there will be a third world war,” the minister said.
“We just have to realize that everything we have known up to now is being called into question, and this is being accelerated by the unpredictability of the American partner. That is why we have to strengthen our defensive efforts in order to guarantee peace on our continent,” stressed Lecornu.
