Moscow, 5 January 2023 (dpa/MIA) – France is to supply Ukraine with “light battle tanks,” French President Emmanuel Macron told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday as Russia put a new missile into service.

Russia’s war on Ukraine started last February and there is no end in sight, with both sides adding to their military firepower.

The French tank in question is reportedly the AMX-10 RC armoured reconnaissance vehicle. It was initially unclear how many tanks France intends to hand over to Ukraine and by when.

“This is the first time that Western-designed tanks have been delivered to the Ukrainian armed forces,” French media reports quoted Macron’s Élysée Palace office as saying.

Zelensky thanked Macron on Twitter, saying that they had also decided to continue working together to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile put the new Zircon hypersonic missile into service as the country’s war effort continues to flounder.

“I am sure that such a powerful weapon will allow us to reliably protect Russia from external threats and secure the national interests of our country,” he said in a televised video link from the Kremlin to mark the commissioning of the missiles on the Admiral Gorshkov frigate.

The vessel is part of Russia’s Northern Fleet and is to be sent on a lengthy sea voyage to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to demonstrate Russia’s naval power. But the missile’s use against Ukraine is widely expected.

The warship, commissioned in 2018, is the first frigate to be equipped with the new missiles.

The Zircon has a range of more than 500 kilometres and is primarily used for anti-ship missions. Given its extremely high speed – it can accelerate up to 9,000 kilometres per hour according to the Russians – it is practically unstoppable by anti-aircraft defences.

In the wider conflict, insecure ammunition storage is creating risks for Kremlin troops, a British intelligence report has said.

London was referring to the Ukrainian attack on a Russian military shelter in Makiyivka in the Donetsk region in which 89 soldiers were killed on New Year’s Eve.

Given the extent of the damage, it is realistic to assume that ammunition was stored near the shelter, which could have caused further explosions during the shelling, the British said.

Even before the Ukraine war, the Russian military had been known to store its ammunition insecurely, the British said, adding that the incident in Makiyivka shows how “unprofessional practices” contribute to a high number of casualties.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence in London has been issuing daily intelligence updates on the course of the war to counter the Russian narrative. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has meanwhile called on Europe and the West to continue to stand closely by Ukraine’s side in 2023.

“It is clear to us that our strongest response lies in our unity as partners and allies,” she said at a conference in Lisbon.