France to supply Ukraine with arms funded by frozen Russian assets
France plans to deliver anti-aircraft missiles and other weaponry to Ukraine. Notably, the funds for purchasing the weapons will be covered by Russia.
Sébastien Lecornu, following discussions with defence ministers from Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, and France, shared that new funding strategies have been identified to support Ukraine, which should reassure French taxpayers. In the coming weeks, steps will be taken to implement these measures, including supplying Kyiv with Mistral anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons in partnership with Italy. The funding for this initiative will come from revenues generated by frozen Russian assets.
As he highlighted, France will continue training Ukrainian soldiers and plans to enhance its capabilities in this area. Lecornu reported that 2,300 soldiers from the Ukrainian brigade "Anna of Kyiv," who were trained at training bases in Champagne, returned to Ukraine.
Will Western military personnel go to Ukraine?
Earlier, sources from Le Monde indicated that France and the UK had resumed discussions on the possibility of sending military personnel or private military company employees to Ukraine. According to these sources, Paris and London do not rule out forming a coalition to support Kyiv.
At the end of May, the Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, after talks with the French defence minister, stated that Kyiv welcomed Paris's initiative to send military instructors to Ukraine. Syrsky emphasised that the necessary documents in this regard have already been signed.
Billions from Russian assets
In European Union countries, after Russia's war against Ukraine started, approximately 167 billion pounds of the Russian central bank's reserves were frozen. In January this year, the European Commission issued a regulation stating that the income from the reinvestment of these assets does not belong to Russia and, therefore, can be allocated to aid Ukraine.
At the beginning of October, EU countries approved granting Ukraine a loan of 28 billion pounds from the revenues of Russian assets. The European Parliament later ratified this decision. The funds are to be provided to Ukraine by the end of 2025. Previously, EU countries that provided weapons to Kyiv and Ukraine received the first 1.2 billion pounds from the income derived from Russia's assets.
