Defense Ministers of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and France Sebastien Lecornu discussed the supply of weapons and military equipment, bilateral projects on military-technical cooperation, training of Ukrainian military personnel and the implementation of Euro-Atlantic standards, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reported.

"I would like to thank the minister, the president, the government and the people of the French Republic for their unwavering support for Ukraine in providing a powerful package of military and humanitarian assistance, as well as the protection of Ukrainians forced to leave Ukraine to escape Russian bombing," the department's press service quotes Umerov as saying.

It is reported that France has already provided Ukraine with modern SAMP/T and Crotale air defense systems, CAESAR artillery systems, Milan anti-tank weapons, AMX tanks, VAB armored personnel carriers, etc. According to Umerov, "this assistance will certainly bring our victory closer."

Lecornu, in turn, emphasized the importance of continued assistance to Ukraine by partner countries in the long term, focusing on the transfer of weapons and military equipment, training of Ukrainian military personnel and joint defense production.

"The first is the transfer of weapons. We will continue to transfer weapons to Ukraine. The second part of our support is the training of soldiers. We have achieved our goals by the end of the year. More than seven thousand Ukrainian soldiers were trained in France (on French territory or Poland). It was either some kind of general training or specialized. I would like to inform you that the exercises will continue at the same volume. The third question is more strategic and concerns our ability to jointly produce something for the needs of Ukraine," the French Minister of Defense said.

In addition, as part of the visit of the French Minister of the Armed Forces to Ukraine, a memorandum of intent on cooperation was signed between the state enterprise of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Defense Procurement Agency and the Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) (France). The document provides for indefinite cooperation and creates a regulatory framework for concluding contracts. This will also contribute to the deepening of military-technical cooperation, including in the development of joint high-tech projects in the interests of ensuring the defense of both countries.