France, Australia to send artillery shells to Ukraine

According to the two country's decision for now, manufacturing of artillery shells will be done by French manufacturer Nexter where Australian manufacturers will be helping it out actively.

New Delhi, Feb 01: Ukraine of late has been receiving massive armament support from NATO and other countries. This is another point that there are also reports that show that there is huge corruption in what has been given in aid to Ukraine. While the US has promised to send Abrams tanks and there is already a talk over the supply of Leopard tanks, France and Australia have agreed to jointly produce several thousand 155-mm artillery shells and send them to Ukraine.

The supply of these artillery shells could start as early as the next week. From what appears to be one of the well thought out strategies to equip Ukraine so that it can stand against Russian onslaught, the plan to produce and send artillery shells would cost millions of dollars. However, this is a small fraction of what NATO has delivered to Ukraine in the last several months.

The latest decision from the French and Australian government seems to be prompted by the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been consistently appealing to NATO members for more arms and ammunition. As the Russian troops are preparing for a long war, Ukraine urged for a quick supply of tanks, artillery guns and ammunition from the friendly nations.

France, Australia reworking ties

Although at the first instance the decision to supply artillery shells to Ukraine seems to be an act of support to the war torn country, it essentially also an indication that Australia is working on to improve its bilateral relations with France. Australia has already miffed France with its decision to not go forward with its submarine contract that was worth $60 billion.

Australia was slated to buy conventional French submarines in 2021 for the price of more than $60 billion; however, later on decided to buy nuclear-powered submarines from the USA and Britain. This has not gone well with France as they feel ditched. The Australian government is now trying to patch the tartness between the two countries with the joint efforts for Ukraine.

According to the two country's decision for now manufacturing of artillery shells will be done by French manufacturer Nexter where Australian manufacturers will be helping it out actively. Needless to say the West and NATO, led by the US, have been utilizing all the available resources to support Ukraine; however, this has not gone well with Russia which has warned of consequences.