Ukraine signed a letter of intent with France to obtain 100 Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said as he seeks to bolster the country’s long-term military capacity to fight Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskiy is visiting Paris for talks with President Emmanuel Macron at a time when heavy Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine have increased in recent weeks and Moscow has reported ground advances in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
“It will be the greatest air defence, one of the greatest in the world,” Zelenskiy told reporters yesterday after he signed the letter of intent with Macron in front of a Rafale jet and the French and Ukrainian flags at Villacoublay military airport.
The Elysee confirmed the number of Rafales and said the deal, which also includes air defence systems, bombs and drones alongside the Dassault -made jets, concerns new equipment rather than transfers from French stocks.
“We’re planning Rafales, 100 Rafales – that’s huge. That’s what’s needed for the regeneration of the Ukrainian military,” Macron told LCI TV, adding that the deal was also good news for France and Dassault.
The letter of intent is a political commitment, rather than a purchase deal, which would come later, the Elysee said, adding that the aim was to finance this with EU programmes and the planned use of frozen Russian assets – which the EU has not yet agreed on.
Operating the advanced Rafale jets would take time given the rigorous training programme for pilots.
There have been talks for several weeks to see how France could provide more military support for Ukraine’s air defences, although Macron’s government is grappling with political and budgetary instability, raising questions over how much France can actually do.
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