French Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu stated that his country is working to accelerate European efforts in manufacturing ammunition for Ukraine, as well as establishing supply chains for spare parts and technical maintenance of weapons.
He made this announcement in Brussels before the start of a meeting of NATO defense ministers, which includes a Ukraine-NATO Council session.
"Lately, I met with Thierry Breton (European Commissioner for Internal Market – Ed.) to organize European efforts in managing gunpowder stocks, aiming for a rapid transition of countries to a military economy. Ukraine should receive more and more not only ammunition but also spare parts to address technical maintenance issues of various military equipment," Lecornu explained.
The Minister reminded that this year Ukraine will receive 78 French "CAESAR" howitzers, making technical maintenance of this type of weapon and others very relevant.
He stated that France's defense budget, as promised, will reach 2% of GDP in 2024.
"We can confirm that France will meet its commitment regarding the target indicator as a percentage of GDP this year. However, it's not just about obtaining these 2%, but about ensuring that this money is really useful on the front lines because these are not just figures or tables; this is what will deter the Russian Federation from waging war," emphasized Lecornu.
