By Dylan Malyasov
July 12, 2023
Defense
France has donated SCALP cruise missiles to the Ukrainian Air Force, a move that allows Ukrainian forces to hit Russian troops and supplies deep behind the frontlines, French officials said on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had decided to boost military aid to Ukraine to help its counteroffensive.
“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.
The MBDA-built cruise missiles, which can reach 250 km (about 160 miles), would only be used within Ukraine’s internationally-recognized borders, according to a military official in a Reuters report published on 11 July.
Reuters also quoted the French diplomatic source saying they were talking about 50 SCALP missiles.
The missiles would come from existing French military stocks, a French military source told reporters, adding that it would be a “significant number”.