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France to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles with the ‘capacity to strike deeply’

By John Irish, July 11, 2023, VILNIUS, July 11 (Reuters) – France will join Britain in supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which can travel 250 km (155 miles), a move that allows Ukrainian forces to hit Russian troops and supplies deep behind front lines, French officials said on Tuesday.

Emmanuel Macron said he had decided to boost military aid to Ukraine to help its counteroffensive as the French President arrived at a summit of the 31-member NATO alliance in Lithuania.

“I have decided to increase deliveries of weapons and equipment to enable the Ukrainians to have the capacity to strike deeply,” Macron said, while declining to say how many missiles would be sent.

A French diplomatic source said they were talking about 50 SCALP missiles produced by European manufacturer MBDA.

The missiles would come from existing French military stocks, a French military source told reporters, adding that it would be a “significant number”.

The French version, known as SCALP, has a range of about 250 km, three times as far as Ukraine’s existing missile capacities.

The missiles were being integrated into Ukrainian Russian-made warplanes, the French military source said……………………………….. more https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-send-long-range-missiles-ukraine-macron-2023-07-11/

July 13, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, Ukraine, weapons and war