Is France providing Ukraine with enough military aid? Since the conflict began almost two years ago, there has been constant criticism of Paris that it’s failing to deliver enough arms to the Ukrainians. According to some of France's partners, given its economic weight – with the second-largest gross domestic product in the European Union (EU) – and the strength of its army, the only one on the continent capable of conducting large-scale operations outside of its borders, the country should do much more, say some of its partners.

Olaf Scholz fired the latest warning shot. On January 8, the German chancellor asked the European Union for "as detailed an overview as possible of the concrete contributions our European partners will provide for Ukraine this year." He was singling out France, Italy, and Spain, three EU countries that are lagging far behind, according to Berlin, in terms of arms deliveries to Kyiv.

The "state of play" regarding support for Ukraine will be discussed at the extraordinary European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, February 1. Using preliminary but incomplete data collected from member states, the diplomatic service estimates that member states have promised Kyiv around €20 billion in military aid for 2024. A European diplomat notes that "Since the start of the war, the EU has contributed €28 billion, so we're seeing an acceleration." Brussels, however, refuses to disclose the details of each country's contributions. The capital warns, "This must not turn into a beauty contest."

Based on the rankings of the German Kiel Institute, which has been used as a benchmark since the start of the war, France would come in 15^th place when it comes to bilateral military support to Ukraine, with transfers and financial support valued at €540 million. This position places France ahead of Spain (19^th with €340 million) and Belgium (20^th with €310 million), but behind Italy (13^th with €690 million), and above all far behind Germany (2^nd with €17.1 billion), the UK (3^rd with €6.6 billion) and Poland (6^th with €3 billion).

Léo Péria-Peigné, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, said, "If we talk in terms of mass, in other words the number of items of equipment handed over, there's no comparison between France and Germany." By experts' calculations, Berlin has supplied 48 battle tanks to Ukraine, while Paris hasn't sent a single one. Additionally, the same applies when it comes to Germany providing 16 mine-clearing armored vehicles while none have been provided by France, and 52 versus 0 anti-aircraft armored vehicles. That’s without mentioning ammunition which is crucial for the Ukrainians to hold out against the Russian steamroller, with a two-fold gap between the two countries.

You have 60% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.