Ukraine is about to get more help from one of its smallest allies

Ukraine is about to get a little extra help from one of its smaller allies in Europe—Belgium. Brussels recently announced plans to send Ukraine a few new artillery pieces to aid in its defense against Russia. 

Belgium may be one of the smallest countries in Europe but its size hasn’t prevented it from fully supporting Kyiv with military assistance ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

As of May 2024, Belgium's Ukraine Fund stood at €1.7 billion euros and was intended to be used for military and financial support, humanitarian aid, and Ukraine's reconstruction according to the Belgian government.  

Belgium has provided the Ukrainians with everything from artillery shells and munitions to F-16 fighter jets. Now Brussels is planning to purchase and transfer 3 French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.

The Belgian news outlet RTBF reported the country’s defense ministry was planning to allocate $12 million euros for the purchase of 3 Caesar. A proposal of the plan will be submitted to Belgium’s Council of Ministers “in the near future” according to Militarnyi. 

In January 2024, Belgium, along with 25 other countries, including the United States, joined an international artillery coalition initiative lead by France. The coalition aimed to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 72 Caesar howitzers in 2024. 

“Belgium joined the coalition in May and committed to supplying three howitzers,” The Brussels Times reported. “The Caesars that Belgium will donate to Ukraine are not from the batch ordered for its own army,” the news outlet added. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Kevin.B, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0]

The French government had committed to funding the cost of 12 of the 78 new Caesar self-propelled artillery systems France could manufacture in 2024, according to a report from Politico. 

Speaking at the artillery coalition meeting in January, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that Paris’ commitment to fund 12 of the 72 Caesar artillery systems France wanted to send to Ukraine left just 60 for Kyiv’s other allies to fund. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Daniel Steger, CC BY-SA 1.0

"That leaves 60 [howitzers] to be financed, and I appeal to our allies to share the bill. We're talking about €280 million, accessible to the various budgets of our allies," the French minister said

News of Belgium’s commitment to supply 3 Caesar self-propelled artillery systems to Ukraine was quickly followed by an announcement from France that Paris had penned a deal to supply Ukraine with the 12 Caesar artillery guns it committed to fund for Ukraine. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5

The Kyiv Independent reported that the deal to supply France’s 12 Caesar systems was signed on October 3rd. The Franco-German defense group KNDS was contracted to supply the artillery guns. 

Since 2022, Paris has provided a total of 30 Caesars to Kyiv according to The Brussels Times. But what makes this artillery system such a valuable weapon for the Ukrainian Armed Forces?

According to Army Recognition, the Caesar self-propelled artillery system fires standard NATO 155mm shells from a truck-mounted howitzer that is well known for its “mobility and rapid-fire capabilities.”

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Thomas Dahlstrøm Nielsen, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mobility is key in the everyday artillery duels and counter-artillery battles that happen on the frontlines of the war every day. The ability to fire shells at the enemy and move to a new position, a tactic known as shoot and scoot, has been key to Ukraine's success. 

Manufactured by the French defense company Nexter Systems, the Caesar excels at shoot-and-scoot tactics. It can fire six rounds per minute and hit targets upwards of 40 kilometers or roughly 25 miles away. 

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Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Sgt. 1st Class Mikki Sprenkle, Public Domain