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French defence companies will repair and manufacture military equipment locally in Ukraine as Paris seeks to rally western allies to do more to help local forces to push back the Russian full-scale invasion.
“We are not at the maximum level of what we can do in Ukraine,” said defence minister Sébastien Lecornu in an interview on French radio RMC.
“Three French companies will be setting up partnerships with Ukrainian companies, in particular in the drone and land equipment sectors, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and perhaps ammunition in the future”, he said, adding that the first production could begin by this summer.
The companies involved are KNDS, a joint-venture of France’s state-owned Nexter and Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann that makes munitions, the Caesar howitzer, and combat vehicles; Arquus, a military vehicle maker and supplier of chassis; and drone maker Delair.
Lecornu also announced that France had ordered 200 surface-to-air Aster missiles from European manufacturer MBDA, and that some could be sent to Ukraine.
The French move is part of a broader push among European defence companies to start shifting some production, repair or maintenance functions into Ukraine as the war drags on into a third year and shortages of ammunition hamper Ukrainian soldiers’ ability to fight. In September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted a conference in Kyiv in a bid to attract companies, and several of them have been holding discussions with local partners since then.
Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall, which has seen demand soar for its 155mm artillery shells that are standard in western howitzers, plans to manufacture both munitions and later tanks in Ukraine together with Kyiv-owned defence contractors.
At the Munich Security Conference in February, chief executive Armin Papperger said the company aimed eventually to produce a six-digit number of 155mm-calibre shells per year in Ukraine with a local joint venture partner, without specifying the timing.
The company’s joint venture with Kyiv-owned Ukroboronprom has already begun to repair military vehicles locally — both Leopards and Panthers donated by the west as well as old Soviet models — returned from the front line.
Czechoslovak Group, which makes ammunition and other military equipment, is also looking to sign some production joint venture agreements in Ukraine.
BAE Systems said in September that it was exploring options to work with local partners in Ukraine to produce spare parts for its light artillery.
Ukraine has said it needs more ammunition and long-range missiles to push back Russian attacks and liberate its territory, and its foreign minister warned in an article in Le Monde that shortages were hampering its ability to fight.
President Emmanuel Macron has in recent weeks been trying to spur European backers of Ukraine to step up their aid to Kyiv and consider new forms of support, arguing that Russia was getting more aggressive and that US support was not a given. “We are without doubt facing a time in Europe when we cannot be cowardly,” he said in a recent speech in Prague.
But Macron sparked a backlash last month when he said sending western troops to Ukraine could “not be ruled out”, an idea promptly rejected by many Nato allies and which provoked a strong reaction in Germany.
Sending civilian workers from western defence companies to Ukraine could also carry some risk.
Arquus already has sent staff to Ukraine to repair and maintain the roughly 250 armoured personnel carriers that France has donated to Ukraine, and train Ukrainians to carry out those functions. It is also working on a plan to produce replacement parts locally.
“The framework contract was signed with a Ukrainian partner about 10 days ago, so we are entering into the operational phase,” said Arquus.
Nexter, the French part of KNDS, said it had been in discussions to find a local partner since September to “bring maintenance and eventually production” closer to the front lines.
A person close to the company said it would “take a few weeks to figure out what is doable” and added that the French government has asked them to support Ukraine locally. “There’s a symbolic aspect to it, but it also has to be competitive,” the person said, adding that KNDS already had operations nearby in Lithuania and Romania.
Additional reporting by Sarah White in Paris and Raphael Minder in Warsaw
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