Roustem Oumerov was to go with his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, to the site where the Caesar cannons are produced, of which France announced, on Wednesday January 17, the production of 78 units for Ukraine.
Information to remember
⇒ Ukrainian Defense Minister cancels his visit to France
⇒ Russia claims to have struck “French mercenaries” in Ukraine
⇒ Russia: a drone shot down near Moscow, an attack repelled on Belgorod
A Russian attack of 33 drones in the night
Russia launched 33 Iranian-designed drones on Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, as well as guided missiles on the large city of Kharkiv, in the east of the country, the Ukrainian army said.
Anti-aircraft defense downed 22 of these drones, and Russian forces fired two S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles from the Belgorod border region, it said in a statement.
“The occupiers attacked with 33 Shahed-136/131 attack drones from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk area and the Kursk region of the Russian Federation,” the Air Force said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister cancels visit to France
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Roustem Oumerov, canceled his planned visit to France on Thursday January 18 “for security reasons”, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced Wednesday evening in a press release. The Ukrainian minister will, however, participate on Thursday morning by videoconference, with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, in the launch in Paris of an “artillery coalition” which aims to strengthen kyiv’s capabilities against Russia.
This coalition, led by France and the United States, is one of the components of the contact group for the defense of Ukraine known as the Ramstein group, bringing together more than 50 countries supporting kyiv. This component in which 23 nations participate “aims to unite efforts to help – in the short and long term – Ukraine to have an artillery force adapted to the needs of the counter-offensive and its army of tomorrow” , indicated the French Ministry of the Armed Forces in a previous press release.
France will be able to produce 78 Caesars in just over a year for Ukraine
France will deliver six Caesar self-propelled guns to kyiv “in the coming weeks” and promises to be able to produce 72 others in just over a year for Ukraine, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said on Wednesday. “Thanks to the efforts of the war economy, France has the capacity to produce in 2024 and early 2025 78 Caesar arrows for Ukraine,” the ministry said. Six of them, ordered in September as part of a direct commercial contract between Nexter and the Ukrainian state, “with Kiev’s own funds”, will be delivered “in the coming weeks”, the 72 others having to find financing collectives, said the ministry.
Furthermore, President Emmanuel Macron will express “France’s support for Ukraine” on Friday during his greetings to the Armed Forces in the port of Cherbourg (Channel), the Elysée announced on Wednesday.
Russia claims to have struck “French mercenaries” in Ukraine
Russia claimed responsibility, on Wednesday January 17, for a strike carried out the previous evening on a building housing “French mercenaries” in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, where local authorities reported 17 civilians injured. Moscow’s claim for the strike comes after President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that France would deliver 40 additional long-range Scalp missiles to Kiev and sign a security agreement with Ukraine, which will be announced during his visit. on site planned for next February. It also comes as Ukrainian leaders demanded more weapons from the West this week in Davos to allow them to regain control of the skies against Russia in 2024.
Russia: a drone shot down near Moscow, an attack repelled on Belgorod
Russian anti-aircraft defense shot down a drone south of Moscow during the night, the mayor of the capital said on Thursday January 18, while the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, countered a new air attack, according to its governor. “In the city of Podolsk, the attack by a drone flying towards Moscow was repelled by anti-aircraft defense. According to preliminary data, no damage, nor casualties, at the places where the debris fell,” said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
In a separate statement, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region and to have “intercepted” another in the Leningrad region (northwest), rarely affected by this type of attacks. Since last spring, the Moscow region and the capital have been regularly targeted by drones, generally shot down without causing any casualties. The Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, has been affected by deadly attacks for months. The governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Thursday that “10 missiles” flying towards Belgorod had been shot down by the armed forces.
Biden tries to wrest funds for Ukraine from a partly reluctant Congress
Joe Biden brought the leaders of Congress to the White House on Wednesday to urge them to continue American aid to Ukraine, currently interrupted due to lack of agreement between Republican and Democratic parliamentarians on a financial extension.
The American president “was clear: Congress’ inability to act endangers the security of the United States, NATO and the rest of the free world,” according to a statement released by the White House after the meeting.