The resignation of the French government on Wednesday and the non-adoption of the budget may make it difficult for Paris to increase support for Ukraine, despite President Emmanuel Macron's repeated promises to help Kyiv "as long as it takes," Reuters reported on Thursday.

The resignation of the government may lead to a situation in which the budget of the current year will be postponed to the next one. Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, speaking before the no-confidence vote on Wednesday, said it would affect France's support for Ukraine.

"Most of the Ukrainian support is the transfer of old equipment from the French army, which is then replaced by a new one. If we slow down the order of new equipment, it will lead to a slowdown in supplies for Ukraine," Lecornu told Le Parisien ezine.

According to Lecornu, this will also lead to the fact that the defense budget will not reach the target of EUR 50 billion and the army will lose EUR 3.3 billion.

France has already reduced the pace of assistance to Ukraine. Lecornu said in October that France would not fulfil the promised programs worth EUR 3 billion for 2024, although this figure would be higher than EUR 2 billion.

In November, France completed training for about 2,000 Ukrainians, including the provision of armored vehicles for troop movement and reconnaissance, Caesar howitzers, anti-tank missile launchers, surface-to-air missiles and battlefield radars.

In recent weeks, it has also shipped new missiles using funds from frozen Russian assets, and plans to provide Mirage fighter jets in the first quarter of 2025.

As previously reported, deputies of the lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, voted on Wednesday evening for a vote of no confidence in the government of Michel Barnier. Some 331 deputies voted for no confidence. Some 288 votes were needed for the vote.