France’s Emmanuel Macron agrees to send crucial long-range missiles to Ukraine

Pressure is mounting on Joe Biden to send crucial long-range missiles to Ukraine after France said it would ship the potentially groundbreaking weapons.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would provide the SCALP surface-to-air missile system to hit targets further into Russian-held territory.

“We have decided to deliver new missiles that will enable deep strikes against Ukraine,” he said, without saying how many would be sent from his arsenal of just under 400.

Britain sent its own version of the SCALP, known as the Storm Shadow, to Kiev in May. The UK was the first country to send long-range missiles to Ukraine.

A senior French military source said shipments have already begun and will be fired by non-Western fighter jets.

“It balances things out and allows Ukraine to get deep into Russian lines and penetrate more difficult targets,” he said, allaying concerns that it could further escalate the war.

It follows Britain’s decision in May to have its own version of the missile system, known as Storm Shadows, become the first country to provide long-range missiles and help the Ukrainian military drive out the Russian invaders.

Macron’s move could see Biden face calls from Ukrainian hawks in Congress to boost US supplies of ATACMS missiles.

Washington is the largest financier of Ukraine’s war effort, providing more than $40 billion in military aid.

But the White House has repeatedly refused to allow the 190-mile missiles, fearing they could strike deep within Russia’s internationally recognized borders.

Officials have argued that sending the guns would be an escalating move that could provoke Vladimir Putin to lash out.

Shortly after Macron’s announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov threatened Ukraine with punitive action following the French move.

“From our point of view, this is a wrong decision, with serious consequences for Ukraine, because it will, of course, force us to take countermeasures,” said Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s main propagandist.

“I reiterate our position of principle regarding such decisions (on arms transfers): they cannot influence the course of events in Ukraine,” he added.

Russia made a similar threat to Britain when it delivered its long-range cruise missiles, but it never materialized.

The French announcement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized NATO for not giving a proper timeline for Kiev’s full membership.

Uncertainty is weakness. And I will discuss this openly at the summit,” he said ahead of a planned visit to Vilnius on Wednesday.

“It seems that there is no willingness to invite Ukraine to NATO or make it a member of the alliance,” added the wartime leader, who called the decision “unprecedented and absurd.”

One of Zelensky’s top aides, Mykhailo Podolyak, echoed the president’s frustration, saying that “NATO must stop fearing responsibility.”

Jens Stoltenberg, the head of the mutual defense club, had earlier on Tuesday urged Kiev to get “a clear message” about the path to membership.

Ukraine is seeking temporary security guarantees from the US and its allies pending NATO accession.

A paper by ex-NATO chief Ander Fogh Rasmussen and his chief of staff Andriy Yermak last year suggested a Kyiv Security Compact, effectively membership in a shadow alliance, to protect the country and its people from future Russian aggression.

It said it should include the US, UK, Canada, Poland, Italy, Germany, France, Australia and Turkey, as well as the Baltics, Central and Eastern Europe.

Ukraine first became eligible for NATO membership in 2008, but was never offered a formal process to join for fear Russia would be provoked by such a move.

Under Article 5 of the Alliance’s Mutual Defense Treaty, an attack on one NATO ally is considered an attack on all.

But it is not automatic and the clause requires the approval of all NATO countries to be activated.

The thorny issue of Ukrainian membership is not the only rift overshadowing the two-day meeting, which has raised questions about the US decision to send controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was among a chorus of voices expressing concern about shipping the highly lethal weapons to the war-torn country.

The hope is that the weapons can help bolster the Ukrainian counter-offensive as troops are running low on ammunition.

But in a response to DailyMail.com, Sullivan rejected claims that the 31-nation military alliance was split over its support for the Ukrainian military.

“I would say rumors of the death of the NATO unit were greatly exaggerated,” he said. “Vladimir Putin counted on the West to crack, NATO to crack and the Transatlantic Alliance to crack and he has been disappointed at every turn.”

The Russian tyrant will be “deeply disappointed” by what emerges from the meeting in Lithuania, Sullivan added.