French tanks could reach Ukraine army next week

France has already sent heavy artillery and air defence missiles to help Ukrainians fight Russia

French Army AMX-10 tanks such as these are being sent to Ukraine. AP

French armoured vehicles could arrive in Ukraine as early as next week, France’s Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday.

The AMX-10 is a wheeled armoured vehicle with a powerful gun, and is sometimes described as a light tank. The move comes more than a month after Paris said it would send about 30 of the vehicles as part of a new aid package, having already sent anti-aircraft weapons and mobile artillery systems.

But the AMX-10, being lightly armoured, falls short of the kind of vehicles Ukraine insists it needs to win the conflict with Russia.

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  Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system, pictured above, to Ukraine. Reuters

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  FIM-92 Stinger rockets have been donated to help Ukrainian infantry engage aircraft and drones. The shoulder-launched missiles can shoot down aircraft. Photo: US Army

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  Germany donated 25 Flakpanzer Gepard all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. AFP

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  The High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can simultaneously launch several precision-guided missiles. The US has given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 130 kilometres. EPA

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  M777 howitzers and about 300,000 shells have been donated to give Ukraine an accurate artillery platform with a range of 50 kilometres. EPA

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  Ukraine has been sent at least 5,000 of the anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. These shoulder-launched rockets have proved deadly in the field. PA

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  Ukrainian troops have also received thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles. Bloomberg

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  Poland and the Czech Republic sent Russian-made T72 tanks, which Ukraine has used for decades, to ease integration and cut down training time. EPA

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  France as announced its plan to give AMX-10 RC “scout tanks” to Ukraine. "This is the first time that western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," a French official said. AFP

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  Shortly after the French, the US said it would send Bradley fighting vehicles to provide "a level of firepower and armour that would bring advantages on the battlefield”. Reuters

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  The UK sent their phased-out Saxon armoured vehicles. They found new life protecting infantry units in transit and dealing with tough off-road conditions. Getty Images

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  Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship launchers to help Ukraine defend its coasts. AFP

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  Turkey sold Ukraine its Bayraktar TB2 armed drones. These unmanned aircraft can fly at an altitude of 7,500 metres before swooping down to attack targets. They have been instrumental in Ukraine. AFP

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  The US sent 20 Soviet and Russian made Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine that had initially been bought for the Afghan government in 2010. AP

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  Germany has also supplied its latest version of the IRIS-T air defence system designed to shoot down missiles at altitudes up to 20 kilometres. Getty Images

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  The US also gave 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones. AP

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  Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. Reuters

Kyiv has called for more tracked, heavily armoured tanks, sometimes called main battle tanks, including further supplies of British Challenger 2s, US M1 Abrams and German Leopard 2s. Around 100 older, but still capable Leopard 1 tanks have been donated by Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, which could bring Nato-designed tanks in Ukraine to nearly 200 vehicles.

Analysts say these numbers are insufficient to turn the tide on the battlefield, but could help blunt an expected Russian offensive.

Ukraine is thought to have about 400 domestically produced T-64BM tanks and 300 T-80s, in addition to operating about 1,000 captured Russian tanks. In addition to these captured and domestically made Russian tanks, Poland, Morocco and the Czech Republic have also donated scores of Russian-designed T-72 tanks, some of which have been upgraded.

Russia is thought to have about 1,800 tanks available for service, having lost about 1,000 of its operational fleet, according to a recent estimate by the International Institute of Strategic Studies. Due to the high intensity of combat along the front lines, those numbers can change rapidly.

The US has also pledged more than 100 Bradly Fighting Vehicles, which are designed to carry troops into battle but can be fitted with anti-tank missiles, and have a cannon powerful enough to destroy lightly armoured vehicles.

The first vehicles will be sent to Ukraine "by the end of next week", Mr Lecornu told Le Parisien newspaper's Sunday edition.

Training of Ukrainian crews on the AMX-10 was now "nearly complete", he said.

Overall training of Ukrainian military was "intensifying", he added, both in France and Poland, a fellow Nato member.

Starting next month, 600 Ukrainian troops will undergo training every month, he said.

Asked about possible fighter aircraft deliveries to Ukraine, an urgent request by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the defence minister said the question was "not taboo".

But he said such military aid posed complex "logistical and practical questions".

Because of slow European and US action on tank deliveries, delayed by German reluctance to supply Leopard 2s or allow allied operators to send them, the swift delivery of the AMX-10s will likely be welcomed by Kyiv.

Larger main battle tanks are not expected to make an appearance on the front line until April at the earliest.