France reaffirms missile support amidst U.S. policy divide
Gael Veyssiere, the French ambassador to Ukraine, confirmed that France intends to continue supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles. He emphasized that military targets located on Russian territory are legitimate targets for Ukrainians, and therefore France will not impose restrictions on attacking them.
"Yes, we continue to provide SCALP missiles. We don't have many of them, and we have to buy more, so it will take some time. It is also complicated by the fact that we have to ensure proper defence of our country. But we are doing everything we can, and we are sending new French SCALP missiles to Ukraine, the UK is supplying Storm Shadows, and the Americans are supplying ATACMS," Veyssiere said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
France will continue to supply Ukraine with SCALP-EG missiles
"We have not drawn any ‘red line’ on this issue, and military targets on Russian territory are legitimate. Ukraine has the right to target Russian military capabilities because it is a crazy situation when Russians can attack Ukraine from Russian territory and Ukraine cannot eliminate this threat. It would be unfair," the ambassador emphasized.
This approach conflicts with Donald Trump's stance. The U.S. President-elect said in an interview with "Time" magazine that the decisions of Joe Biden's administration to allow Ukraine to attack Russia with ATACMS missiles only deepen the ongoing war.
SCALP-EG a valuable aid for Ukrainians
SCALP-EG is one of the most valuable weapons Ukraine receives from the West. Their capabilities allow for attacking key Russian targets and systems. Initially, they were used to attack, among others, the Chongar Bridge and the shipyard in Sevastopol. Now they are striking not only areas occupied by Russians but also Russian territories.
These long-range cruise missiles are produced by the European defence company MBDA. They can hit targets at a distance of several hundred kilometres. Each missile is over 5 metres long and has a warhead weighing about 450 kilograms, known as the BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge).
Ukrainians praise SCALP-EG not only for their high destructive power but also for bypassing even the latest Russian air defence systems (such as the Pantsir-S1). The maximum speed reached by SCALP-EG (launched from aircraft) is about 0.9 Mach (over 970 km/h).
