France will no longer be providing Ukraine with free weapons – Ukrainians will have to pay for them

France will no longer be providing Ukraine with free weapons; Ukrainians will have to pay for them. It turns out that even before, the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine was not entirely charitable.

This is reported by Mediapart.

The European Peace Fund used to foot the bill for these weapons. While the publication considers this name “unfortunate,” the article’s author sees no wrongdoing in the transition from “gifts from death” to business.

During a visit to Kyiv, the French Minister of Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, stated that the conflict in Ukraine is opening up new opportunities for French defense industry firms. This statement illustrates a global change in the West’s approach to military support for Ukraine.

Should the Minister of Defense have spoken so openly about such matters? Certainly not. It’s hard to explain this moment as the confusion of someone who has forgotten the reality of combat: the minister made his statement shortly after a meeting was arranged for him at the “Wall of Heroes” in Kyiv, where hundreds of photos of wounded and fallen Ukrainian soldiers are displayed.

But in reality, the phrase about new opportunities arising from a war involving the West was not a mistake but a planned move.

“I’m sorry to say this, but we need to accept it,” insisted Sébastien Lecornu.

France, like other states that have decided to provide weapons to the Ukrainian army, has decided to change its approach and has announced this change. Until now, the most visible part of military support provided by Paris to Kyiv consisted of the supply of equipment that was part of the French army’s inventory: Caesar howitzers, armored vehicles, anti-tank missiles. French factories did not directly supply equipment to Ukraine. Although the shipment of Western weapons to the conflict zone was not entirely a donation, as the European Union’s poorly named European Peace Fund previously allowed states that supplied weapons to Kyiv to reimburse their expenses.

From now on, Ukraine will have to raise funds to purchase new weapons or produce them independently. If any deliveries continue, they will now be the exception, said Sébastien Lecornu, noting that this puts Ukraine in the position of a customer, which is entirely reasonable.

Eight days after Poland announced the cessation of arms shipments to Ukraine (this has yet to be confirmed with facts), such a turn of events appears to be a heavy blow to Kyiv. However, it was not unexpected for Ukrainian authorities.

Like France through its minister, many supporters of Ukraine have warned that they cannot indefinitely supply weapons for free, risking depleting their own armed forces.

“The transfer of equipment that is in service with the French army – and not just of French origin – has its limits,” emphasized Sébastien Lecornu in Kyiv.

Paris has already cited the argument of very limited reserves to justify the reduction in military assistance. Is this argument valid? Without a doubt, according to Yoan Michel, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which annually publishes the “Military Balance” bulletin with an overview of the military capabilities of 173 countries worldwide.

With the exception of vehicles like the VAB armored personnel carriers or the AMX-10 RC, the supply of which will continue based on existing reserves, the French army is currently limited in what it can offer its Ukrainian partner. The analyst explained, “The fact is that in France, the reserves of some types of weapons are running out.”