As of: March 31, 2024, 9:11 p.m
By: Karsten Hinzmann
Comments
Press
Split
Secondary use: The French infantry fighting vehicle VAB is getting old and is being replaced in France. In Ukraine he is now supposed to bring the infantrymen safely into battle and back again. © IMAGO / piemags
The minister promises “hundreds” of vehicles: France is putting together an XXL package; and in the USA, aid to Ukraine is under attack from the far right.
Paris – The Ukraine war is about to flare up on a second front: in the USA. The all-clear is currently coming from the Netherlands, specifically from the top of NATO. Even a possible new president after the US election will not leave any NATO partner out in the cold, the Dutchman Rob Bauer recently assured in Riga.
That's why he's not afraid of Donald Trump, the chairman of the NATO Military Committee told the
Baltic Times
. It was obvious to him that Trump's previous statements were not directed against NATO as a whole, but rather against the fact that some countries do not provide enough resources for defense. Nevertheless: The Republicans are fighting tooth and nail against the $60 billion package approved by the US Senate.
At the same time, the alliance's member states are prepared to pay more for defense - and to invest in Ukraine, Bauer assures: New vehicles are actually coming from France soon, and President Joe Biden also wants to add material.
The US site
Forbes
is nevertheless harsh on its own compatriots: the Ukrainians' biggest problem is the Russia-friendly Republicans in the US House of Representatives, who have been insisting on blocking further US aid to Ukraine since October. Without American ammunition, Ukrainian batteries went from firing up to 10,000 shells a day to just 2,000, reports
Forbes
writer David Ax.
US budget wobbles: right-wing attacks on Ukraine aid
But now a significant number of Republicans seem to be giving in to the pressure and are inclined to help Ukraine - albeit in the face of resistance from the ultra-conservative wing. House Speaker Mike Johnson had promised to schedule a vote on new aid for Ukraine in April. If that happens, the U.S. government could potentially send hundreds of thousands of shells to Ukraine. They could arrive at the same time as at least a million shells purchased for Ukraine by a Czech-led consortium. Ukraine has also received the last few hundred thousand shells promised by the European Union last year.
This means that Ukraine could soon have enough artillery ammunition again. The prerequisite is that the budget would be approved in the USA. But the budget is in limbo, as various media reports. The bitter dispute over the budget in the USA reveals the deep divisions among Republicans in Congress and is dampening hopes that new aid funds for Ukraine will be approved soon. Johnson has reportedly come under fire within his caucus after his support for a bipartisan budget bill. Party colleagues from the right-wing fringe are attacking Johnson and are also opposing new aid for Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia.
Ukraine is repairing its howitzers: new shells expected for new offensive
Radical Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene from the ultra-right Republican fringe reject support for Kiev. The announced $60 billion aid package is therefore stuck in the party dispute in the House of Representatives.
My news
After 20 years, the citizen's benefit recipient finally finds work - two days later he is already annoyed
NATO fighter jets rise: Russian planes intercepted over the Baltic Sea
Quake in the construction industry: Read the bankruptcy of a large German real estate company
Cheese recall: Federal Office warns of health risks – according to the RKI, three groups are particularly susceptible to focus reading
Putin confidant warns: Nuclear attack is “most likely” coming read
34 mins ago
Cannabis release on April 1st - read where to get seeds for planting now
Meanwhile, Ukraine is preparing to refire the barrels of its howitzers: That starts with repairing dozens of mostly US-supplied M-777 towed howitzers - something the Ukrainians can do in Ukraine and with Ukrainian parts - the Western tanks On the other hand, some of them have to be repaired outside the country.
Forbes
reports that Ukrainians are proud to have built their own infrastructure: “We have established the production of some of these parts here in Ukraine,” said General Oleksandr Syrsky, the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. “In particular, the restoration of each unit of this howitzer will use 40 percent of the parts and spare parts manufactured for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at domestic enterprises.”
XXL package from France: The hesitant nation promises hundreds of armored personnel carriers
Ukraine received at least 190 M-777s from allies, including the United States. In 2023, the five-ton howitzers, which hurl 50-kilogram, 155-millimeter shells up to 30 kilometers without rocket support, were among the best and most important large guns in Ukrainian service. “The reason is their precision,” a Ukrainian shooter told
Radio Free Europe
.
“But Macron and his government want France to be seen as part of the 'peloton de tête', which is a metaphor from cycling. The term stands for: top group.”
Oliver Meiler in the Süddeutsche Zeitung
In Paris, people are reacting irritably to accusations from Berlin that they are not providing enough military aid to Ukraine, as the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
notes - and that is why Paris is now upping the ante: France, Germany, the USA and more than 20 other countries currently have one in Paris Artillery coalition for Ukraine founded. “There is no alternative to modern artillery, we must continue to make efforts to increase the production of ammunition,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov, who took part in the conference in Paris via video.
France is now planning to launch an XXL package: howitzers and armored personnel carriers. The fact that Paris is using the opportunity to replenish its own stocks with new Griffon armored vehicles is unlikely to interest Ukraine. According to
Ukrainska Pravda,
France plans to supply "hundreds of old but 'still functional' VAB armored vehicles" as well as missiles for SAMP/T air defense systems. France's Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu also announced this to the newspaper
La Tribune
. The VAB (Véhicule de l'avant Blindé) entered service 40 years ago and is currently the most widely used troop transport vehicle in the French army. At the beginning of the war, an unknown number of VABs were promised to Ukraine and individual examples were already seen in use.
“We’re talking about hundreds of them in 2024 and early 2025.”
Sébastien Lecornu, French Defense Minister, on the delivery of the VAB in La Tribune
In addition, Lecornu explained that France will soon be able to supply Kiev with 78 more Caesar self-propelled howitzers after the first 50 units and increase shell deliveries to meet Ukraine's urgent ammunition needs. Caesar stands for
Camion équipé d'un système d'artillerie
(in German "truck equipped with an artillery system") and is a self-propelled, predominantly unarmored howitzer in 155 mm caliber developed and manufactured in France - it is comparable to the Swedish Archer system, which is already in use in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, artillery plays a crucial role in attack and defense, which the military actually believed had already been overcome, as the
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
writes. With artillery fire, the enemy's advance can be stopped at barriers and the troops can be disabled. In addition, enemy artillery positions can be fought with so-called counter-battery fire. This is a particularly important tool for Ukraine, as its air force is too weak to bomb Russian positions from the air. In addition, tubular artillery - both as a towed or self-propelled howitzer - is cheaper than rocket artillery.
Two potentates in a clinch: France is inciting Putin's new Caesar
Once in position, the M-777 is ready to fire in less than three minutes and can be moved away again in two to three minutes after firing has ceased. This is of great importance in order to protect yourself from counterattacks by enemy artillery or air force. Modern artillery radar systems can determine the location of the guns that fired them based on the trajectory of the projectiles. This means that an artillery unit is at risk as soon as it fires for the first time. The French Caesar drives itself - so Ukraine will be grateful for any more of these guns. However, the
Tagesschau
declared the Grande Nation a “stingy great power” at the end of last year.
Although, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, it has so far delivered material worth 1.7 billion euros to Ukraine. The French Parliament's Defense Commission even came up with 3.2 billion euros - all including services from Paris for Ukraine since February 2022 - including training. According to military experts, the bottlenecks in certain segments are now so severe that France can no longer give up without being left empty-handed; although in addition to the Caesar, France also supplied Crotale anti-aircraft systems and AMX reconnaissance tanks. 40 Scalp cruise missiles will also follow, as the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
has learned.
That is still much less than Germany, and only about half of Great Britain, analyzes Oliver Meiler for
the
South German
. “But Macron and his government want France to be seen as part of the 'peloton de tête', which is a metaphor from cycling. The term stands for: top group.”