France, Australia to supply Ukraine with thousands of artillery shells

France and Australia agreed Monday to jointly produce and ship several thousand 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine in a bid to meet Kyiv's "urgent demand." 

In a joint statement issued following the second Australia-France Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultations held in Paris, the two countries expressed their shared commitment to Ukraine’s security amid Russia’s war.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and her Australian counterpart Penny Wong and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles reiterated their firm stance to continue to support Ukraine.

"Ministers announced their intent to provide support to Ukraine including through the joint supply of 155-millimeter ammunition. The initiative leverages the complementarities of the respective defense industries and meets Ukraine’s urgent need for 155-millimeter ammunition," said the statement.

The two countries also agreed on the commitment to restore "a dynamic bilateral relationship" founded on trust and shared interests in line with the priorities agreed by the two countries' leaderships last year.

On July 1, 2022, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in an effort to mend ties after tensions over a scrapped submarine deal last year.

Australia in 2021 cancelled a multi-billion-dollar contract with a French firm to build 12 diesel-powered submarines in favor of AUKUS, a new defense pact with the US and UK.