France doubles down on missile support to Ukraine
Gael Veyssiere, the French ambassador to Ukraine, confirmed that his country plans to continue supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles. He also emphasized that military targets located on Russian territory are considered legitimate targets for Ukrainians, and therefore, France will not impose restrictions on attacking them.
11:16 AM EST, December 15, 2024
“Yes, we continue to provide SCALP missiles. We don't have many of them, and we have to buy more, so it will take some time. It is also complicated by the fact that we have to ensure proper defence of our country. But we are doing everything we can, and we are sending new French SCALP missiles to Ukraine, the UK is supplying Storm Shadows, and the Americans are supplying ATACMS,” Veyssiere said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
France will continue to supply Ukraine with SCALP-EG missiles
“We have not drawn any ‘red line’ on this issue, and military targets on Russian territory are legitimate. Ukraine has the right to target Russian military capabilities because it is a crazy situation when Russians can attack Ukraine from Russian territory and Ukraine cannot eliminate this threat. It would be unfair,” the ambassador emphasized.
This approach conflicts with Donald Trump's stance. The U.S. President-elect said in an interview with "Time" magazine that the decisions of Joe Biden's administration to allow Ukraine to attack Russia with ATACMS missiles only deepen the ongoing war.
SCALP-EG a valuable aid for Ukrainians
SCALP-EG is one of the most valuable weapons Ukraine has received from the West. Their capabilities allow for attacking key Russian targets and systems. Initially, they were used to attack locations like the Chongar Bridge and the shipyard in Sevastopol. Now, they are striking not only areas occupied by Russians but also Russian territories.
These are long-range cruise missiles produced by the European defense company MBDA. They can hit targets at a distance of several hundred miles. Each missile is over 16 feet long and has a warhead weighing about 1,000 pounds, featuring the BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge) warhead.
Ukrainians praise SCALP-EG not only for their high destructive power but also for their ability to bypass even the latest Russian air defense systems, such as the Pantsir-S1. The maximum speed reached by SCALP-EG (when launched from aircraft) is about 0.9 Mach, which is over 600 mph.
