Latest news with #SebastienLecornu
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
France names ‘red line' in Ukraine conflict
Demilitarizing Ukraine and leaving it without NATO membership, as Russia demands, is a red line for Europe, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told weekly magazine Valeurs Actuelles. Moscow insists that any resolution to the conflict must comprehensively address its security concerns. Russian officials want Ukraine to acknowledge the new territorial realities on the ground, agree to neutral status, guarantee that its Russian-speaking population is not discriminated against, and undergo demilitarization and denazification. As of now, all of these demands have been rejected by Kiev. In an interview, published on Wednesday, Lecornu argued that Europe cannot allow Ukraine to be left without a functioning army while denying it NATO membership. 'Our absolute red line is the demilitarization of Ukraine,' the minister said. 'We must be coherent. One cannot refuse Ukraine entry into NATO and at the same time accept that it no longer has an army,' he added. Ukraine formally applied for fast-track NATO membership in September of 2022, months after the conflict with Russia escalated. While Western nations initially supported Kiev's bid, no timeline for accession has been set. Meanwhile, support for Kiev's bid has been eroded by mounting military setbacks and shifting US policy. Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch reported last November that 'corruption continues to complicate' Ukraine's efforts to join NATO, citing multiple scandals in its Defense Ministry. US President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a peace deal with Moscow, has ruled out NATO membership for Kiev. Russia views NATO's eastward expansion as a direct threat to national security and has indicated that Ukraine's ambition to join the US-led military bloc was one of the key issues that triggered the current conflict. President Vladimir Putin stressed last month that Moscow's concerns had consistently been ignored. Putin also said that Ukraine had agreed to military limitations during the 2022 Istanbul talks, including troop numbers and weapons restrictions, but later withdrew from the deal to seek military victory with Western backing. He added that now, instead of a 'peaceful settlement to this issue,' Moscow has been forced to resolve the task – namely, demilitarization – by military means. Speaking ahead of this week's meeting of the Western-led 'coalition of the willing' – a UK-French initiative to deploy troops in Ukraine after a truce is reached with Russia – Lecornu said the group will urge Kiev to 'rethink' the future shape of its army, noting 'opportunities' for the French defense industry. Moscow has accused the West of encouraging Kiev to fight 'to the last Ukrainian' and maintains that no amount of military aid will reverse Kiev's fortunes on the battlefield. It has also repeatedly warned that any foreign forces fighting alongside Ukrainian troops will be treated as legitimate targets, while warning this could escalate the conflict.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
Is the EU doing enough to integrate Ukrainian defence tech?
Just before launching its EU presidency last week, Denmark inked a €67 million agreement with Ukraine to let their defence companies build their designs on Danish soil - the first of its kind. 'This is a major contribution to Ukraine's fight for freedom, as well as to the Danish and European armament,' Morten Bødskov, Denmark's minister of industry, business and financial affairs, said in a press release last month. This first deal between Ukraine and Denmark will 'ensure a higher degree of integration' for Ukraine in Europe's wider rearmament, the statement continued. The agreement comes a month after Ukraine launched an international joint weapons production programme with its allied countries to build 'licensed production lines for Ukrainian weapons in partner countries'. But do these recent efforts go far enough? How are European countries building Ukrainian tech? There are already several projects in play between Ukraine and private industry in Europe, such as the UK's production of the Raybird surveillance drone, a 'flexible fixed-wing' 20-kilogram drone that can be deployed in under 25 minutes and can fly for roughly 28 hours over a 2,500-kilometre range. A French auto manufacturer will produce first-person view (FPV) drones in Ukraine, with France's armed forces minister Sebastien Lecornu calling it a 'win-win partnership' in French media. Le Monde reported that automaker Renault was approached for this work. Sweden's SAAB, Norway's Kongsberg, French-German KNDS, Germany's Rheinmetall, and the US's Raytheon are reportedly expanding their presence on the ground, according to a June press release from Ukraine's ministry of defence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that his country struck more deals with European allies and a leading US defence company to 'step up drone production'. Zelenskyy didn't name the businesses in his address. Euronews Next has followed up with the Ukrainian government to find out more about the deals that have been signed but did not receive a reply at the time of publication. Ukraine is also working on draft legislation for joint weapons production with allies that should be put to a vote in their parliament later this month, according to Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's defence minister. The programme includes plans to create a special legal and tax framework to help Ukrainian defence manufacturers scale up and modernise production, including building new facilities at home and abroad, Umerov said. 'We are not included in the common planning' These projects are a promising first step but Ukraine is still not included in the 'common planning' that the European Union is doing regarding its rearmament, said Olena Bilousova, senior research lead of military at the Kyiv School of Economics. She added that American-made M982 Excalibur shells dropped in efficiency to reach their targets from 70 per cent to six per cent as Russia continues to advance its electronic warfare (EW). This is a form of artillery that the EU has sent to Ukraine in the past. 'There are a lot of cases like that when we understand that the weapons which were common and still common in procurement of the EU should be reviewed [or] at least … modernised,' she told Euronews Next. Ukraine's reliance on drones as a 'cheap solution' in its offensives against Russia is also misunderstood by Ukraine's allies, Bilousova added, noting that the country should be able to build drone procurement strategies with its partners. It doesn't mean that Europe should be focused only on procuring drones, Bilousova continued, but that Ukraine should develop with them 'new strategies around conventional weapons,' including how many are needed and how they can be protected against drones. Bilousova said Ukraine could also teach Europe how to speed up the development of new battle-tested technologies based on their model. Ukraine uses the 'Danish model' of military procurement to develop a new technology from idea to product testing on the battlefield, which takes anywhere from three to six months, compared to traditional weapons procurement, which usually takes up to 18 months. Ukraine can do this through earmarking an estimated $30.8 billion (€29.4 billion) in 2023 for the war effort, a level that is 20 times higher than the pre-2022 invasion level, a recent report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found. Crowdfunding through platforms such as United24 has also raised over $1 billion (€950 million) and distributed approximately $930 million (€884.61 million) of that to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the last three years. Both pots of money are then redistributed to Brave1, a 'united coordinational platform' that provides more than 470 grants worth an estimated 1.3 billion hryvnias (€29 million). Pan-European approach to Ukraine defence tech 'unlikely' Bilousova said it's not clear what forum would be the best to bring in Ukraine as a 'consultant' for rearmament. But a pan-European initiative to get Ukraine fully integrated into rearmament might not be possible because time is 'of the essence,' said Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow with the Bruegel think tank. 'The vast majority of this integration will happen at the bilateral level and will be driven by Ukraine's desperate need for more weapons and the willingness by many member states … to provide the money,' he told Euronews Next. 'That is not, unfortunately, a capability that the EU has as a whole'. However, it doesn't stop the Commission from identifying 'target projects' that would be of shared interest with Ukraine, such as developing advanced air defence, drone surveillance for subsea internet cables or cybersecurity, Kirkegaard continued. The EU has already activated a €150 billion "SAFE" loan instrument that lets states borrow money for joint defence projects. At least 65 per cent of the weapons' components have to be sourced from within the EU or Ukraine. It's also launched a joint EU-Ukraine task force to integrate Ukraine into the 'defence-tech ecosystem'. However, Bilousova said that if the Commission doesn't step back and create a longer-term plan, the weapons it invests in could be 'ineffective' and delayed for the next conflict. 'I think it is always a good time to make a strategy even if war is already in place,' she said.
Middle East Eye
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
France says it intercepted drones targeting Israel prior to Iran ceasefire
France's military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel before this week's ceasefire, the country's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday. "I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets," Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East.
NDTV
26-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
French Army Intercepted Iranian Drones Targeting Israel Before Ceasefire
Paris: France's military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel prior to this week's ceasefire, the country's defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday. "I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets," Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East. Lecornu said Iran had launched some 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones towards Israel during the 12-day conflict. Israel started attacking Iran on June 13, saying it aimed to destroy its arch-enemy's nuclear capabilities. Its strikes wiped out a senior echelon of Iran's military command and killed several nuclear scientists. Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed and nearly 5,000 injured in the country. Tehran's retaliatory missiles killed at least 28 people in Israel and damaged hundreds of buildings, until a ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday.
Reuters
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
France says it intercepted drones targeting Israel prior to Iran ceasefire
PARIS, June 26 (Reuters) - France's military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel prior to this week's ceasefire, the country's defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday. "I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets," Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East. Lecornu said Iran had launched some 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones towards Israel during the 12-day conflict. Israel started attacking Iran on June 13, saying it aimed to destroy its arch-enemy's nuclear capabilities. Its strikes wiped out a senior echelon of Iran's military command and killed several nuclear scientists. Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed and nearly 5,000 injured in the country. Tehran's retaliatory missiles killed at least 28 people in Israel and damaged hundreds of buildings, until a ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday.
