France to Send Mirage-2000 Fighter Jets to Ukraine
President Macron's announcement coincided with the start of an official visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that France will send Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine, marking a significant escalation in the country’s direct military support to Kyiv.
"Tomorrow we will launch a new cooperation and announce the transfer of Mirage-2000 [jets], which will help Ukraine protect its skies," Macron said during an interview with broadcaster TF1 in Caen.
His announcement coincided with the start of an official visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Macron also stated that Ukrainian personnel would receive training in France for five to six months starting this summer, with a goal of training 4,500 service members. "We've always had the same philosophy; we help the Ukrainians to fight," he said.
Until now, France had refrained from donating fighter jets to Ukraine, emphasizing Kyiv’s need to focus on obtaining and training on F-16s, which are more widely used than the French-made Mirages by Dassault.
President Zelenskyy is in France to participate in the 80th anniversary of the D-Day commemorations, which have gathered veterans and world leaders from allied nations on the Normandy beaches.
Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Macron have drawn parallels between the fight against Nazism in World War II and Ukraine's current struggle against the Russian invasion.
On Friday, Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with French defense manufacturers, address France's National Assembly, and hold further talks with President Macron.
During the interview, Macron also confirmed that a French national had been arrested in Russia on suspicion of espionage.
