France plans to deliver six to 12 Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, originally intended for Denmark, in what is being interpreted as an unprecedented operation, at a time when Paris is accused of not doing enough to help Ukraine.

The delivery was the subject of long negotiations.

According to the information of the Parisian "Le Monde", France is preparing to deliver to Ukraine a new series of "Caesar" howitzers, taken from the order originally intended for Denmark. Although the technical talks are being finalized, the maneuver is subject to a political agreement in principle between the three governments. This news was revealed during the exchange of information in recent weeks between President Emmanuel Macron, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

The equipment that Paris has committed to delivering to Kyiv was originally intended for Denmark, as part of an order for 15 units ordered in 2017, supplemented by four more in 2019 from the manufacturer Nexter. Copenhagen has accepted at this stage to give up some of these tools because they are still in the process of technical validation, or even some of them do not comply with the specifications originally set by the Danes. After initial hesitation, Ukraine, whose leaders are satisfied with the effectiveness of the Caesar howitzers, has shown a willingness to take over these weapons and use them as they are. Neither the Elysee Palace nor the Ministry of the Armed Forces wanted to comment on the operation.

Since the start of the war, Emmanuel Macron has been regularly accused of not doing enough to help Ukraine. According to the Institute of World Economy from Kiel, a German organization that gathers support for Ukraine, calculates that France is only in the eleventh position for the delivery of weapons. Far behind the USA, the largest contributor (more than 70 percent of military aid), but also after Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia...

- There is a gap between the ambitions France shows and the efforts it makes to help Ukraine. Today, Paris weighs nothing in the conflict, no one is talking about French armaments except the "Caesar" howitzers, Francois Heisbur, advisor for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Monde.

"France's support for Ukraine is far from what we can expect from such a big country (…). Paris must do more, and it can do much, much better", says the former Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in an interview published on September 23 in Le Point.

However, a closer inspection shows that Paris did not stand idly by. According to the list provided to "Le Monde" by the Elysée Palace, the French army delivered to the Ukrainian forces, in addition to 18 "Caesar" howitzers with a caliber of 155 mm, armored vehicles (VAB), transport vehicles, Milan anti-tank missiles, Mistral anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles , "combat equipment" (helmets, body armor, night visors, combat rations, NHBO uniforms, medical equipment), ammunition "of all calibers", fuel... "France has provided military equipment to Ukraine without interruption since February 27", he assures the entourage of the French head of state. And intelligence assistance was also significant.

According to information from Monde, the Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu also proposed to his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov to create a fund, with participation from France with at least 50 million euros, from which Kyiv can draw as it wants to buy military equipment of French manufacturers. "This fund can be replenished depending on the evolution of the conflict", specified a source familiar with the discussions. The proposal was considered at the last meeting of the allied countries of Ukraine, which took place on September 8 at the base in Ramstein (Germany).