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Putin Is Angry: France Is Sending 155mm Caesar Artillery Systems to Ukraine

Ceasar Artillery
French soldiers, assigned to Task Force Wagram, fire a French Ceasar in support of Operation Roundup, in Al Quim, Iraq, May 16, 2018. As a non-permanent force the Coalition aims to enable the Iraqi security forces to be self-sufficient. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Zakia Gray)

Caesar Artillery Is Coming: France Is Sending “Significant” Equipment to Ukraine – French President Emmanuel Macron told regional newspaper Ouest-France this week that he had sent “significant equipment” to Ukraine to help fight against Russian invaders.

“We are delivering significant equipment, from Milan to Caesar,” Macron said, referring to anti-tank missiles and Howitzers respectively.

“I think we have to continue on this route. Always with the red line that we will not become parties to the conflict,” he added.

The sending of military hardware to Ukraine was confirmed by French Defense Minister Florence Parly on Twitter. Parly said that several Caesar artillery cannons had been delivered to Ukraine along with thousands of shells.

On Vladimir Putin, Macron said that he feels an “ethical weight” to talking to the Russian president, slamming him for his “denial of facts.”

“If we choose out of fatigue not to speak to him anymore, then we leave the responsibility of talking with President Putin to the Turkish President, to the Indian Prime Minister, to the Chinese President,” he said. “And we decide that it is non-Europeans who will build peace in Europe the next day.”

Macron also insisted that France “must help the Ukrainians as much as possible” without becoming a “co-belligerent.”

What is the Caesar?

The Caesar artillery system is a 155mm 52-calibre self-propelled gun that is manufactured by Nexter Systems in Versailles. The weapon is the product of a collaboration with Lohr Industrie of Hangenbieten, in France, and was first ordered by the French Army in 2003. By December of 2004, 72 more Caesars were ordered for the French Army, and used to replace the old TRF1 Howitzer artillery systems. 

The weapons system officially entered production in 2006. 

The Caesar is designed to be independently operated, featuring a cabin designed to protect the six-man crew that operates the machine against small arms fire and shrapnel. It was specifically designed to be rapidly deployed, meaning that Ukrainian troops will be able to more quickly respond to Russian fire or take aim at Russian troops first as they continue to advance from both the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. 

Ukrainian soldiers will be able to use the weapons system to fire shells at ranges of more than 25 miles. 

Caesar self-propelled howitzer

A French Caesar self-propelled howitzer fires into the Middle Euphrates River Valley in Southwest Asia, Dec. 2, 2018. As part of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, they are supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces as they clear the last remaining pockets of ISIS from the Middle Euphrates River Valley and pre-vent them from fleeing into Iraq. In conjunction with partner forces, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve defeats ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and sets conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Mikki L. Sprenkle)

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

Written By

Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive's Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

19 Comments

19 Comments

  1. Alex

    April 23, 2022 at 9:01 am

    I am sure that Russia is interested in testing its weapons on Western weapons. Therefore, the main supplies are destroyed at the time of delivery and in warehouses, and they select and examine the rest. Good tactic.

    • Jason

      April 23, 2022 at 8:25 pm

      They might be interested, but since their munitions either fail to reach their targets or Russians are too dumb to figure out that a warehouses and apartment blocks are different buildings, they’ll definitly continue to feel the weight of both western and Ukrainian designed weapons.

    • Matthew A Heminger

      April 24, 2022 at 6:37 pm

      Russia happens to getting its ass kicked by the far superior Western equipment. You are a moron Alex

  2. sprinter

    April 23, 2022 at 10:27 am

    Well named formidable Caesar, howitzer. It almost doesent, seem fair when 2/3 of the Russian invaders force has less than 0.8 military efficiency according to Pareto, theory.
    So only 34,000 of the invaders are free and not yet affected by the Pareto, theory.
    Military theory suggests an invading force required a 3/1 outnumbering to have a chance of success. It is unlikely the invading russians will succeed with 34,000 against the defending ukraine force. The remaining 66,000 redeployed from the unsuccessful first invasion attempt, will be cannon fodder, according to Pareto, theory.

  3. Alex

    April 23, 2022 at 10:30 am

    Are new goals for Russia on the way?
    During the night, operational-tactical and army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 66 military facilities of Ukraine. Among them: three command posts, 58 areas of concentration of manpower and Ukrainian military equipment, as well as three warehouses of missile and artillery weapons in the areas of the settlements of Oleksandrivka, Komar and Bogatyr

  4. speedster

    April 23, 2022 at 4:01 pm

    The Caesar French artillery is the great secret weapon against the invading russians, who continue to pretend they are Donbass separatists, since they are so used to pretending in Donbasd.

    I should not really divulge this information, but the Caesar artillery has the French oohlala, It has been proven in tests that the French oohlala, absolutely devastated anything it was fired at. I almost feel sorry for the brainwashed invaders. They depend on a daily dose of hypnotism involving staring at the Z for hours.

  5. James

    April 24, 2022 at 1:15 am

    Hopefully decimates the Russian Nazis. Fantastic.

  6. Alex

    April 24, 2022 at 4:19 am

    Russia’s hypersonic weapons destroyed the warehouse of Bandera Nazis near Odessa with new NATO weapons. I wonder if those toys were there?

    • Darodh

      May 29, 2022 at 12:53 am

      Trolloski, nobody believes you, crawl hastly under your rock.

  7. Him

    April 24, 2022 at 4:58 am

    The Soviet-Russians were aligned with Hitler’s Nazi Germany from the start of WW2, which means the Soviets had the same thinking as the Nazis. Russian would have remained on Hitler’s side, except for Hitler attacking Russia.

    Since Russia was on the winning side in WW2, the Russians never changed their Nazi-Soviet thinking. People like Alex-troll are from a continuous heritage of Nazi-Soviet-Putin ideologues.

    Everything Alex spouts stems from his Nazi-Soviet-Putin heritage.

    With a guy like Alex, you’d have as much success trying to convince Alex, as if you were trying to convince a Nazi-brown-shirt guy that Hitler was evil. No logic would work.

    Even towards the end of WW2, many people hung on to supporting Hitler right until the end. If this were WW2, guys like Alex would be among the last holdouts supporting the evil dictator. History is full of such people like Alex.

    Have you seen the movie “Sound of Music”? In the last scene, Alex is like the brain-washed Austrian guy who thinks he is doing the right thing by supporting the Nazi regime. What is different between Alex and Ralph in the movie “Sound of Music”?

    Alex thinks he’s just a normal person. True. But history is full of normal people who are caught in an ideology, where they think that following their country is always the right thing to do.

    I hear reports on social media of Russian people telling that the vast majority of Russians are brain-washed. Alex would be no different to the normal Russians.

  8. Alex

    April 25, 2022 at 10:35 am

    Bandera: who they are – then and now.

    Today, on television and on the Internet, a lot of news is devoted to Ukraine. In the news stories, the word “Bandera” is heard every now and then.

    Who are they and what are they doing in Ukraine? If you look for the answer on your own, without the help of knowledgeable people, then you can stumble upon completely incorrect descriptions of these people. To answer this question, you have to go back in time.

    Where did Bandera come from?
    The collective name “Bandera” was formed from the name of one of the leaders who actively promoted Ukrainian nationalism. Stepan Bandera wanted to liberate his nation from “non-Ukrainians” so much that he brutally cracked down on anyone who had other roots. The main justification for him was that he was striving to gain complete freedom and independence of the country from the influence of other states and peoples as soon as possible.

    Accordingly, those who share Bandera’s ideology and want to cleanse Ukraine of ethnically “unclean” are called Bandera people today. Banderaism appeared during the Great Patriotic War, but now it is experiencing a second revival.

    The life of Stepan Bandera.
    Bandera himself was not a full-blooded Ukrainian. He was born in the family of a priest who had Greek roots. The father taught the children a lot, tried to convey his worldview to them. Perhaps then Stepan absorbed the first portion of nationalism from his father, which later grew into hatred. In addition, the First World War also left an indelible mark on the psyche of a still very young man.

    While still a high school student, Bandera began to show nationalist inclinations. He led the youth movement in Western Ukraine, trying by any means to achieve its independence. It is worth noting that Bandera was not afraid to use even the most dangerous means – for example, terrorism.

    As a senior student, Bandera joined the Ukrainian military organization, in which he continued his activities even after graduation from the educational institution. In some cities, especially in Lviv, Stepan was considered an idol. It was there that the OUN, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, was created. A special Bandera uniform was even developed.

    In those days, the nationalists devoted a lot of effort to the fight against their political opponents, so Bandera already had several political victims. For one of these crimes, the killer was sentenced to death, but then the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment – but he did not even manage to serve this term. During the German occupation of Poland, all nationalists were released, including Bandera. It happened in 1939, just at the beginning of the Second World War.

    Bandera considered the Soviet Union the main enemy of the people of Ukraine. But at the same time, he believed that Germany would not help Ukrainian nationalists achieve independence. In fact, this is what happened: in 1941, Stepan was taken into custody in Germany, since the Nazis had completely different plans for Ukraine. He spent 3 years in prison.

    After his release, Bandera remained to live in Nazi Germany and created a foreign branch of the OUN. His activities were very inconspicuous, he tried not to attract attention and went around with guards until the end of his life. However, he still failed to avoid the assassination attempt: in 1959 he was killed by a KGB agent B. Stashinsky.

    After his death, Bandera left a family. His followers retained faith in their leader and loyalty to their ideology, adding to it their cruel innovations. They committed many more murders on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus, hiding behind the ideas of Bandera.

    Activities during World War II and after
    While the Bandera leader was in Germany, his followers were active on the territory of Ukraine and fought first against the Polish occupation, and then switched to the Red Army and Soviet power. It was then that the UPA was created – the “Ukrainian rebel army”, whose enemies were everyone who was not a Ukrainian. All “superfluous” had to be eliminated by any means.

    One of the ardent fans of this doctrine was Roman Shukhevych. Under his leadership, many families of Polish origin were killed. These times are remembered as the bloodiest in the history of the region. The Belarusian village of Khatyn was simply wiped off the face of the earth. People of all ages were not just killed, but tortured before being dealt a fatal blow.

    Confrontation.
    Undoubtedly, the nationalist movement also had its enemies. After all, Bandera did not just kill people of other nationalities. It came to a terrible absurdity: entire families were slaughtered if they were loyal to the Russians and did not support the ideology of the radicals. People lived in fear, and it was impossible to defend themselves. At that time, the Soviet Union sent NKGB and NKVD workers to Ukraine. Work was carried out with the population, “destruction squads” were created. Everyone who wanted to help in the elimination of bandit formations took part in the battles. In the end, the good turned white: the last underground groups of the OUN-UPA were mercilessly defeated in the mid-fifties. Only then did the attacks on civilians stop.

    Who are Bandera in Ukraine today.
    In modern Ukraine, the Bandera movement began to revive again. Young people are most exposed to this radical ideology. However, not everyone is well acquainted with history and does not know how much trouble this too ardent nationalism brought to the country where today’s Bandera people live. The older generation does not particularly support them and regrets that they did not once exterminate all the followers of Bandera to the last.

    Today in Ukraine, the leader’s birthday is celebrated brightly: parades are gathered, participants carry portraits of the leaders of the movement and light torches. The holiday rolls around the city, but not all residents like fanaticism towards Stepan Bandera and the red and black flag of Bandera.

    Today’s Bandera people are the most active fighters for the freedom of Ukraine and ardent opponents of the Russians. If you enter the query “Bandera photo” on the Internet, you can see that in appearance they are mostly unremarkable young people, except that they wear national symbols. Red and black banners, national flags are unfurled at parades, banners with slogans are carried. Stepan Bandera is their main idol, monuments are erected to him, songs are dedicated to him.

    However, not all Ukrainians should be attributed to this direction. Most residents of the country are not at all happy with what is happening inside Ukraine. Fortunately, the followers of Bandera in Ukraine can be found mainly in the west of the country, but it is worth remembering that mostly non-Ukrainians live there. The words of the current deputy of Ukraine: “Ukrainians and other peoples in the west of the country live in Ukraine.”

    One cannot but agree with him, because it was from the west of Ukraine that the Bandera Nazis went to kill Ukrainians in the east of Ukraine. Today there are many terrible stories about how Bandera atrocities in Ukraine, their cruel torture and murder of children and women did not leave any journalist indifferent. There is a lot of evidence and after a special military operation they will be made public. The whole world will be horrified who NATO countries helped to kill Ukrainians.

    • Darodh

      May 29, 2022 at 12:54 am

      Russnazi propaganda. Get lost

  9. CK

    April 26, 2022 at 10:49 am

    If someone wanted to know the truth about anything in Ukraine Alex, the last person they would go to is you.

    Paragraphs and paragraphs of bollocks, dubious claims about “independent journalists”, random documentarians, conspiracy theorists, deluded claims that of course, have no backup, lie after lie after lie.

    Classical Kremlin troll approach. Just flood the internet, the comments, the media, with tosh, doesn’t matter what it is, just make sure you write some old nonsense. Make sure to say the claim is supported by some dude in Germany, France, the states. If it’s a “documentary” (usually from youtube) then the better.

    Anything that victimises Russia, always the victim, always the bullied, never the problem. It’s always the Nazis. It’s always some pseudo-historical point.

    Anyone that has had the misfortune to study your “tactics” sees the forest for the trees, the pattern of lies, disinformation, blanketing of random claims, deflection, obfuscation, and other words beyond your vocabulary.

    It’s hopeless Alex. Your lies are as short as your intellect. What a pathetic job, to sit in your government shed, spreading your pathetic, government lies.

    A pathetic job for a truly pathetic man. A better match could not be made in heaven.

  10. Cope On

    April 26, 2022 at 10:57 pm

    Aleksandr is under the impression that this conflict simply pits Russian arms against Ukraine. He fails to see that it pits the collective economies and productive output of the West against Russia. We know how this movie ends.

  11. Alex

    April 29, 2022 at 9:18 am

    If someone wants to know the truth about the civil war in the Donbass, about all the atrocities of the Bandera clean-ups and why Russia was forced to intervene, then it is better to watch films by independent journalists. There are already many such journalists who fight for truth and freedom. For example, a documentary by the German journalist Wilhelm Domcke-Schulz.

    A documentary film about the war crimes of the Bandera Nazis during the period of Russia’s special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine is in production. It will be a real information bomb, where the war crimes of Bandera Nazis will be shown and proved.

    The documentary “Remember Odessa” tells how the Bandera Nazis burned Ukrainians alive and other heinous war crimes.

    The documentary “To Live and Die in Donbass” tries to fill this gaping information gap in the West. He looks into the tormented soul of the inhabitants of Donbass, who really want only one thing – to live self-determining according to their own rules and values. Not submitting to foreign forces and ideologies.

    In the east of Ukraine, in the Donbass, a war has been raging since the beginning of 2014. A civil war that claimed more than 15,000 lives over the years, including several hundred children. They had to die, because the national-fascist coup government in Kyiv, funded by the West, trained and militarily heavily armed, would not tolerate any resistance to their illegitimate rule, no matter the cost.

    Therefore, in April 2014, the putschists deployed the Ukrainian army, supported by dozens of right-wing extremist volunteer battalions, and have since bombed city centers, residential areas, schools, hospitals and infrastructure, killing civilians.

    This perennial crime has gone completely unnoticed by the Western public. Politicians and the media avoid this topic and reports about how the devil pours holy water. Because a public discussion about the crimes of the Ukrainian regime would reveal only one thing – with what mass murderers and terrorists the so-called “west of values” in Ukraine has a common language, if only to defend their goals and interests.

    Lend-lease is a commodity loan, and not cheap: for all the ammunition, equipment and food supplied by the United States, many future generations of Ukrainian citizens will pay. Zelensky is driving the country into a debt hole.

    • Darodh

      May 29, 2022 at 12:56 am

      Prorussian collaborators deserved their fate.

  12. CK

    April 29, 2022 at 1:50 pm

    Ah, I see your tactic. You add a little shitty first paragraph so it doesn’t detect your duplicate post. Is this what it has come to now, you just posting the same exact post 2, 3, 4, 5 times per article?

    Wow, did they run out of paper in Russia, Alex? You guys can’t print new material? Literally using the same lines, over and over again, and now in duplicate in every post!

    Are you so defeated you can’t even come up with anything new? How sad. Now the idiot is talking about lend-lease at the end of his post, because he literally just copy + pasted it from another thread, with zero relevance to this one.

    Here’s a reminder:

    If someone wanted to know the truth about anything in Ukraine Alex, the last person they would go to is you.

    Paragraphs and paragraphs of bollocks, dubious claims about “independent journalists”, random documentarians, conspiracy theorists, deluded claims that of course, have no backup, lie after lie after lie.

    Classical Kremlin troll approach. Just flood the internet, the comments, the media, with tosh, doesn’t matter what it is, just make sure you write some old nonsense. Make sure to say the claim is supported by some dude in Germany, France, the states. If it’s a “documentary” (usually from youtube) then the better.

    Anything that victimises Russia, always the victim, always the bullied, never the problem. It’s always the Nazis. It’s always some pseudo-historical point.

    Anyone that has had the misfortune to study your “tactics” sees the forest for the trees, the pattern of lies, disinformation, blanketing of random claims, deflection, obfuscation, and other words beyond your vocabulary.

    It’s hopeless Alex. Your lies are as short as your intellect. What a pathetic job, to sit in your government shed, spreading your pathetic, government lies.

    A pathetic job for a truly pathetic man. A better match could not be made in heaven.

  13. offensive

    May 30, 2022 at 8:51 pm

    Stunnіng stoгy there. What occurreⅾ after? Good luck!

  14. L'amateur d'aéroplanes

    June 12, 2022 at 2:07 pm

    The Minister of Defense of Lithuania announced this Sunday, May 12, to buy 18 Caesar.

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