French President Emmanuel Macron declared on February 26th that a newly formed alliance is set to provide Ukraine with “medium- and long-range missiles and bombs.”
During a summit in Paris focused on Ukraine, Macron brought together 20 European leaders and various Western officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda, alongside leaders from Baltic countries.
Macron, in a statement reported by Le Monde, mentioned that France, along with Ukraine’s other allies, aims to establish a coalition dedicated to executing deep strikes using medium- and long-range missiles and bombs.
Ukraine has been urging its allies for more extended-range armaments, such as the ATACMS from the U.S. and Germany’s Taurus missiles, but concerns over potential escalation with Moscow have hindered such transfers.
On the anniversary of Russia’s comprehensive invasion on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that Ukraine wouldn’t target Russian territories with these long-range systems.
France has contributed SCALP missiles to Ukraine, which are similar to the British Storm Shadows and have a range of up to 250 kilometers, albeit shorter than the ATACMS and Taurus missiles.
“The initiatives we have launched will be put on the table, and in 10 days, you will have a clear answer with a serious agenda,” Macron said
In the same vein, he added that not even the sending of Western ground troops to fight the Russian invasion should be ruled out.
“There is no consensus today to send ground troops… but nothing should be excluded. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” Macron said after a meeting of European leaders in Paris.
He said the new coalition would be set up to supply “missiles and bombs of medium and long-range” to Ukraine.
