Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Photo via EPA

Denmark has handed over the first Caesar self-propelled artillery systems to Ukraine, the defence minister announced on Friday.

In August last year, Ukraine agreed on the transfer of the capabilities from Denmark, which had ordered them from France for its defence forces.

"We negotiated, it was a difficult project, and today I want to brag to you: the first Caesars arrived in Ukraine, made in France, but these are Danish Caesars," Oleksii Reznikov said at a press conference.

He added that the artillery systems were already on combat duty.

Caesar is a French 155 mm self-propelled artillery unit designed to destroy manpower, artillery batteries, and to secure passages through minefields and field obstacles.

A Caesar unit includes a 155 mm howitzer with a 52-calibre barrel, with a maximum range of 42 kilometres.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has already received 18 Caesars from France.

Earlier this month, Denmark and the Netherlands agreed to supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, to be operational in early 2024.