January 5, 2023
Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky listens via video link as French President
Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the French-Ukrainian conference for
resilience and reconstruction at the Ministry of Economy in Paris, France
December 13, 2022. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
PARIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron told
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy his government would send light AMX-10 RC
armoured combat vehicles to help in the war against Russia, a French official
said on Wednesday after a phone call between them.
"This is the first time that Western-made armoured vehicles
are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," the official said.
Speaking to reporters, the official did not give any details
about the volume or timing of the planned shipments but said talks would
continue regarding the potential delivery of other vehicle types
Zelenskiy thanked Macron for the announcement and said it showed
the need for others to provide heavier weapons.
"This is something that sends a clear signal to all our
partners - there is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied
with western tanks," he said in a video address.
"We must put an end to the Russian aggression this
year," he said, adding that "modern Western armoured vehicles and
Western-type tanks" were major assets that Ukraine needed.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Zelenskiy said the two leaders
had "agreed on further cooperation to significantly strengthen our air
defence and other defence capabilities". He did not give further details.
France last year supplied several Caesar howitzers to Ukraine.
Macron in October also said Paris would provide
air defence weapons as Russia intensified missile strikes on critical
infrastructure.
The French-made AMX-10 is an armed reconnaissance vehicle with
high mobility, which carries four people, according to the French armed forces
ministry website.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly
asked Western allies for heavier fighting vehicles such as the
German-made Leopard tanks.
Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and David Ljunggren; writing by
Tassilo Hummel and Andrew Cawthorne; editing by Angus MacSwan and Grant McCool
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-send-ukraine-light-combat-vehicles-kyiv-wants-tanks-allies-2023-01-04/
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