France can produce 78 Caesar self-propelled howitzers for Ukraine by early 2025.

Production of Caesar self-propelled howitzers at the Nexter facilities in Roanne.

Details: Lecornu noted that in the coming weeks, Paris will supply six Caesar howitzers to Kyiv, with plans for the delivery of another 72 by early 2025. In total, around 78 howitzers are expected to be produced over the course of just over a year.

"Currently, there are 49 of them [Caesar howitzers – ed.] in Ukraine, which has led to tactical success. Our initiative aims to produce 78 Caesar howitzers in 2024, and we encourage Europeans and other allies to co-finance the effort," Lecornu said in an interview with Le Parisien.

Lecornu noted that Ukraine bought the six howitzers at its own expense. The creation of a French and American-led artillery coalition, aimed at strengthening Kyiv’s capabilities, is to be announced in Paris on Thursday.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov was scheduled to visit the French capital, but his trip was cancelled for security reasons. He will join the planned events online.

Lecornu added that the Caesar long-range self-propelled howitzer, the flagship of French artillery pieces, costs between €3-4 million, a price he believes is "acceptable" to Paris' allies.

Lecornu also said that the delivery of about 40 additional SCALP cruise missiles to Ukraine, promised by President Emmanuel Macron, will begin soon and will take a year, according to a schedule he did not elaborate upon.

Macron had previously announced that he would visit Ukraine in February to finalise a bilateral agreement on "security guarantees".

Ukraine's Defence Minister unexpectedly cancels his visit to France, citing "security considerations"

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umierov.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has cancelled his trip to France at the last moment, citing "security considerations," and will participate in the planned events online.

Source: Le Monde, citing the French Defence Ministry’s official statement, available to the editorial staff.

Details: The statement that reached the media in the evening mentions that Umierov cancelled the scheduled trip on 18 January "due to security considerations" and will join the events with his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, via video conferencing.

During Umierov's visit, an "artillery coalition" was expected to be announced within the Ramstein-format meeting, involving 20 states led by France and the USA.

Lecornu and Umierov had planned to visit one of the facilities of arms maker Nexter in Bourges, where self-propelled howitzers including the CAESAR are produced, as well as the MBDA missile factory. The detailed program of the visit was published for the media on 15 January.

Background:

• As is known, Ukraine received 18 self-propelled artillery units Caesar from France, and Paris has already been able to partially replenish its artillery systems stock – thanks to the arrival of previously ordered howitzers.

• The creation of the artillery coalition and its launch were announced in December, with the implementation set for January.

Paris to supply Kyiv with up to 50 precision-guided bombs per month and increase supply of artillery ammunition.

France will supply Ukraine with up to 50 precision-guided air bombs per month and increase the supply of artillery ammunition to 3,000 shells per month until the end of 2024 to help it fight against Russia's invasion, Le Figaro reported on Jan. 18, citing French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

This commitment follows the previous “supply of 2,000 shells per month starting in February 2022.”

While acknowledging that the Ukrainian counteroffensive “did not work as we wanted,” Lecornu denied that Russia had "gained an advantage” and seized the initiative at the front, saying that Putin’s successes were limited to "two kilometers, bitten off here and taken back."

Earlier, he said that the Caesar manufacturer Nexter had managed to halve the production time of the howitzer to 15 months meaning that about 78 units would be available for Ukraine this year.

Six of them, which Kyiv bought for between EUR 3-4 million ($3.26-$4.35 million) each, will soon be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Paris is now approaching allies to purchase the rest. Ukraine currently has 49 Caesar self-propelled howitzers provided by France and Denmark.

"We want to share the bill and enable European countries to share the financial burden," Lecornu said.

France is nearing completion on a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, following the example set by the UK, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 17.

On Jan. 12, the UK and Ukraine signed a ten-year security agreement. London will exchange intelligence with Kyiv, assist with cybersecurity, military training, and develop mutual defense-industrial cooperation.

The agreement also commits the United Kingdom to consult with Ukraine in case Russia launches another attack and to provide "rapid and sustained" security assistance.

French President Emmanuel Macron also announced on Jan. 16 that Ukraine would receive a new batch of Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles from France.

Ukraine is reportedly in line to receive hundreds of AASM Hammer precision-guided munitions from France, Ukrainian military news outlet Defense Express reported on Jan. 17.

The AASM Hammer is essentially a conventional bomb equipped with special modifications that significantly enhances its range and accuracy.