Update: Ukraine conflict: European countries supply Kyiv with more weapons

France will supply Ukraine with weapons including CAESAR SPHs (pictured) and MILAN anti-tank missiles. (Nexter Systems)

European countries are supplying Ukraine with more and heavier weapons as the Russian invasion enters a new phase in the east of the country.

French President Emmanuel Macron told the Ouest-France newspaper on 22 April that France would supply Ukraine with “substantial equipment” ranging from MILAN anti-tank missiles to CAESAR self-propelled howitzers (SPHs). French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly tweeted later the same day that Macron had confirmed that France would supply several CAESARs and thousands of shells.

In a press conference following a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on 19 April, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said their two countries, in co-operation with other allies, would supply heavy weapons to Ukraine because of the Russian offensive in Donbas. Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren told parliament that the heavy equipment supplied by the Netherlands would include armoured vehicles, her ministry reported on its website on 19 April. She declined to specify what weapon systems or vehicles would be delivered for security reasons, but Bloomberg reported on 20 April that they include Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) SPHs, on which Ukrainians will be trained by Germany in Poland or Germany.