France has sent more air-defence missile systems and other weapons to Ukraine, and will deliver more early next year, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.
"In recent days, France has sent Ukraine more arms, rocket launchers, Crotale [air-defence batteries], equipment beyond what we had already done," Mr Macron told France's TF1 and LCI television.
He was speaking aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off Egypt's coast, a day before visiting Jordan for a regional summit on Tuesday.
"We are also working with the Armed Forces Minister [Sebastien Lecornu] to be able to deliver useful arms and ammunition again in the first quarter, so that the Ukrainians would be able to defend themselves against bombardments," Mr Macron said.
The planned shipments include new Caesar mobile artillery units, but he gave no figures.
Mr Macron said the number would depend on the outcome of discussions with Denmark, which had ordered the Caesar guns from France and might agree to give at least some of them to Kyiv.
Ukraine war latest - in pictures
-
The coffin of Valeriy Krasnyan is brought out of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. Getty Images -
Repairmen work near a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod, outside of Kyiv. AFP -
An elderly man walks in front of a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod. AFP -
A boy kisses a dog while he charges his phone at the heating tent dubbed a Point of Invincibly in Bucha, Ukraine. AP -
A couple uses a laptop in the heating tent. AP -
Workers dig out a tire from the rubble of a destroyed storage building at a grain processing center so they can use it for repairs in Siversk, Donetsk region. Reuters -
The Chernihiv region found itself on the frontline of Russia's invasion in February, when Moscow's forces were attempting to quickly seize Kyiv. Getty -
Russia ultimately retreated from northern Ukraine to focus its attack on the east and south. Getty -
The city of Chernihiv on November 28, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A worker fits in new windows of a building in Chernihiv. Getty -
People receive food from AFAT - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Chernihiv. Getty -
The people Chernihiv queue up for hot food. Getty -
Oleksandr Antonenko stands on a balcony of his apartment damaged by a recent Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters -
Mr Antonenko and his mother Liudmyla inside their apartment recently damaged by a Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters -
A woman walks in an underpass in Kyiv, on November 26, 2022. AFP -
Friends hug after the arrival of a train in the southern city of Kherson. Getty -
Residents sort through donated clothing at an aid centre in Kherson. Getty -
A Ukrainian soldier stands with a machinegun near Liman in the Donetsk region. AP -
Children attend a physical education class at Spilno School in Kyiv. Getty -
A woman embraces her friend, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, in Kherson. AFP -
Residents inspect a crater left by a Russian military strike in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters -
Resident Tetiana Reznychenko walks past a work by world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy, on the wall of a destroyed building in the Ukrainian village of Horenka. Reuters -
Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. AP -
A fisherman sails his boat on the Dnipro as black smoke rises from an oil reserve in Kherson. AFP
Since Russia's invasion in February, France has sent Ukraine 18 Caesar units, a 155mm howitzer mounted on a six-wheeled truck chassis, capable of firing shells at ranges of more than 40km.
Mr Macron said he had two "red lines" when it came to arms deliveries — that it did not affect France's ability to defend itself, and did not make Paris a co-belligerent in the war.
The arms were to "enable Ukraine to defend itself" amid a relentless barrage of Russian missiles and drone attacks, he said.
Ukraine becomes dark patch in night satellite images - in pictures
-
A satellite image showing the night radiance of Europe from space on November 23 shows Ukraine in almost total darkness. Photo: Nasa -
People walking in the dark city centre of Kyiv which lost electrical power after Russian rocket attacks. AP -
A man using a head torch to make his way around Kyiv. AP -
An unlit street following missile strikes in Kyiv. Getty Images -
People charge their devices using a power generator in Kyiv. EPA -
Since October, Russia has launched regular strikes on the Ukrainian power grid. AP -
People sit in candlelight in Lviv. Reuters
Paris has also already delivered anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, and armoured personnel carriers.
Mr Macron also repeated his controversial statement that Russia would require security guarantees as part of a negotiated end to the conflict.
Critics in eastern Europe and Ukraine believe he should not be publicly raising concessions to Russia at a time when its army is occupying parts of Ukraine and deliberately firing at civilians.
Putin sounds out Russian military chiefs on progress of Ukraine war - video
"If anyone criticises me for projecting forward to this issue, let them explain what they are proposing," Mr Macron said.
"What the people who refuse to prepare or work for it are proposing is total war. It will affect the whole continent."
Mr Macron maintains that only Ukraine should define the terms of any armistice with Russia, not the country's western backers.
