Ukraine Hails French Gift of Radar as ‘Cherry on the Cake’

A Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar is displayed during a visit at Thales radar factory by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP)
A Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar is displayed during a visit at Thales radar factory by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP)
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Ukraine Hails French Gift of Radar as ‘Cherry on the Cake’

A Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar is displayed during a visit at Thales radar factory by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP)
A Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar is displayed during a visit at Thales radar factory by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP)

Ukraine's defense minister said Wednesday that Ukrainian lives will be saved by a sophisticated air-defense radar that France is supplying and which is powerful enough to spot incoming missiles and exploding drones in the skies over all of Ukraine's capital and its surrounding region.

The minister, Oleksii Reznikov, was so enthusiastic about what he called Ukraine's new “electronic eyes” that he quickly coined a nickname for the Ground Master 200 radar — the “Grand Master.”

Speaking through an interpreter at a handover ceremony for the radar with his French counterpart, Reznikov described the French-made GM200 as a "very effective” improvement for Ukraine's network of about 300 different types of air-defense radars.

Thales, the manufacturer, says the radar detects and tracks rockets, artillery and mortar shells, missiles, aircraft, drones and other threats.

“Because of your support, Ukrainian lives will be saved,” the minister said at the ceremony in Limours, where Thales makes the equipment.

“This radar will be the cherry on the cake,” he added. “That's why it will be called ‘Grand Master.’”

The French defense minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said the GM200's range of 250 kilometers (155 miles) would enable it to watch the skies over Kyiv and the Ukrainian capital's surrounding region, although it wasn't clear whether that's where Ukrainian forces intend to deploy it.

The radar is transportable on a truck. Thales says it can be deployed in 15 minutes and be moved to another location in 10 minutes, making it a harder target to hit.

The minister was gifted a small model of the radar at the ceremony and brandished it with a big grin above his head.



France Plans to Take Iran to Int’l Court over Citizen Detentions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025.  EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
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France Plans to Take Iran to Int’l Court over Citizen Detentions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025.  EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (R) during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Two French citizens held in Iran for almost three years have not had consular services for more than a year prompting Paris to prepare a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France's foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris have been held since May 2022. Iranian state television aired a video later that year with them appearing to confess to acting on behalf of French intelligence services, something categorically denied by Paris.
Held in Tehran's Evin prison, France has accused Iran of keeping them in conditions akin to torture.
French officials have toughened their language towards Iran, notably over the advancement of its nuclear program and regional activities, but also the detention of European citizens in the country.
Speaking after a rare cabinet meeting to broadly discuss Iran on Wednesday, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot indicated Paris would soon take the matter of violating the right to consular protection to the ICJ.
"We are putting together a complaint that we will file at the ICJ," Foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told reporters at a news conference on Thursday, adding that the Kohler and Paris were being held in "shocking" conditions.
According to Reuters, Lemoine declined to say when it would be filed and acknowledged that procedures at the ICJ were long, but insisted that Tehran needed to be called out on the issue because the embassy and consulate had not had access to their citizens for more than a year.
"It's in violation of Iran's obligations," he said, citing the Vienna convention on consular relations.
In recent years, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality, denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.