France to double supply of 155-mm shells to Ukraine - minister
France will double the supply of 155-mm shells to Ukraine, bringing the number to 2,000 per month, according to French armed forces minister Sébastien Lecornu.
"We are doubling the supply of 155-mm shells to bring them up to 2,000 per month from the end of March," French TV channel BFMTV quoted Mr Lecornu as saying.
He added that France will deliver the SAMP/T air defense system to Ukraine "very soon".
Defence industry in France has already announced a ramping-up of its production due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Nexter, which manufactures 155-mm shells, plans to produce 150,000 shells a year starting 2025, three times more than before 2022.
Lack of ammunition has been widely reported as one of the key factors constraining the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which still use mostly Soviet-era weapons that are no longer supported in the West.
In addition, European countries are yet to reorient their defence industries to meet Ukraine’s demans.
Last week, eighteen nations signed an agreement on a European Defense Agency project to jointly purchase one million rounds of ammunition to help Ukraine and replenish national stockpiles.