The French government is pushing plans to establish a drone production ring in Ukraine through cooperation with the country's largest automaker - Renault. The move comes as Kiev has stepped up UAV attacks on civil infrastructure in Russia.
Renault confirmed that the French Ministry of Defense has contacted to discuss the possibility of producing drones. In a statement to several media outlets, Renault said the discussions were ongoing but no decision had been made at this time and the company was awaiting further information from the ministry.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu described it as an unprecedented partnership. He said France plans to equip a production line in Ukraine to make UAVs, with the participation of a major automaker and a smaller defense company.
Accordingly, Renault could be tasked with setting up a UAV assembly line at locations several or hundreds of kilometers from the frontline. According to some sources, the project could be related to Toulouse-based Delair Company - a unit specializing in providing UAVs for border surveillance, reconnaissance and special forces. Delair previously handed over the suicide attack UAVs to the French Ministry of Defense and then transferred them to Ukraine.
Minister Lecornu affirmed that this initiative benefits both Paris and Kiev. He stressed that no French soldiers will be deployed to Ukraine. Instead, the production line will be operated by Ukrainians and the built UAVs will serve both the Ukrainian army and French forces in tactical training exercises to simulate actual conditions.
Meanwhile, Kiev has stepped up airstrikes on civil infrastructure inside Russia since May, especially targeting Moscow and central regions. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, in the last week of the month, up to 2,300 UAVs were shot down.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the attacks as an act of deliberately sabotage peace negotiations. Moscow has repeatedly warned that all arms production facilities in Ukraine are considered legitimate military targets and will be "terribly destroyed".
