France to provide Kyiv with vehicles
PARIS, April 1, (AP): French Defense Minister
Sébastien Lecornu said France is to deliver “hundreds” of armored vehicles by the beginning of next year to Ukraine as part of a new package of military aid for the country that just entered its third year of war since the full-scale Russian invasion.
In an interview with the French newspaper La Tribune’s Sunday edition, Lecornu said that “to hold such an extensive front line, the Ukrainian army needs, for example, our armored personnel carriers. It’s absolutely key for troop mobility.”
The French military is currently replacing its old VAB armored personnel carriers, that came into service in 1979, with a new generation of armored vehicles. “This old equipment, still operational, is going directly to Ukraine in large quantities. We’re talking about hundreds (of vehicles) in 2024 and early 2025,” Lecornu said.
Lecornu also said France will provide Ukraine with more anti-aircraft missiles.
The move comes as the French government is pushing its military industry to boost production to meet Kyiv’s urgent need for ammunition. On Tuesday, Lecornu said France will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and will increase its supply of shells.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin scoffed at the possibility of his country launching an attack on a NATO member, calling it “sheer nonsense,” but warned that any Western air base hosting US-made F-16 fighter jets that are slated for deployment in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target” for the Kremlin’s forces.
Warnings
“Their statements about our alleged intention to attack Europe after Ukraine is sheer nonsense,” Putin said, referring to warnings in the US and Western Europe that Russia could turn its sights on other countries unless it’s stopped.
He noted that the US defense budget is more than 10 times higher than Russia’s.
“In view of that, are we going to wage a war against NATO? It’s ravings,” he told military pilots during a visit to an air base.
Ukraine is awaiting the delivery of F-16s, which will increase military pressure on Russia, from its Western partners. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last year that 42 F-16s had been promised. Ukrainian pilots have been training in the West for months on how to fly the warplanes.
The F-16s require a high standard of runways and reinforced hangars to protect them from bombing attacks when they are on the ground. It’s not clear how many Ukrainian air bases can meet those requirements, and Russia would be certain to quickly target a few that could accommodate them once the jets arrive.
Putin warned Ukraine’s Western allies against providing air bases in their countries from where the F16s could launch sorties against the Kremlin’s forces. Those bases would become a “legitimate target,” he said.
“F-16s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and we will also need to take that into account while organizing our combat operations,” Putin added.
Military analysts have said the arrival of F-16s won’t be a game-changer in view of Russia’s massive air force and sophisticated air defense systems, though Ukrainian officials have welcomed them as an opportunity to hit back at Russia’s air dominance.
Insisted
Putin insisted the F-16s “won’t change the situation on the battlefield.”
“We will destroy their warplanes just as we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers,” he said.
F-16s can be used to bolster Ukraine’s capability to target Russian facilities with long-range missile strikes. Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year came up short in part because it took place without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.
Russia has maintained air dominance in the war with Ukraine, though the provision of sophisticated Western air defense systems has forced Russian warplanes to avoid Ukrainian skies and launch attacks while remaining over Russia-controlled territory.
One of Russia’s goals is to “deplete Ukraine’s inventory of ground-based air defense,” according to a recent military assessment published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
That would erode some of Ukraine’s combat ability as it waits on pledged but delayed military support from the West, including ammunition for its artillery and air defenses.
“Kyiv is confronted by the threat that an attritional war in the air domain will increasingly favor Russia without adequate support from the U.S. and its allies,” the IISS said. “Ukraine’s ability to continue to counter Russian air threats and impose costs on the Russian Aerospace Forces remains important to the outcome of the war.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Rustan Umerov both pleaded with foreign allies on Thursday to send more air defense systems and missiles.
The Ukrainian Mission to NATO said that it convened an extraordinary ambassador-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the alliance’s headquarters on Thursday in response to Russia’s missile attacks on critical infrastructure.
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VILNIUS, Lithuania: Several central and Eastern European countries marked the 20th anniversary of the largest expansion of the NATO military alliance when formerly socialist countries became members of the bloc.
Military aircraft roared over the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. At the main airbase hosting Spanish and Portuguese fighter jets tasked with NATO air policing missions in the Baltic region, officials gathered to commemorate the event.
“Russia’s new bloody terror in Europe is contributing to the growth of instability and threats around the world. However, we in Lithuania are calm because we know that we will never be alone again,” said President Gitanas Nauseda, standing near the runway where the first NATO jets landed back in 2004. “We will always have a strong, supportive Alliance family by our side, and we will face any challenges together.”