Ukraine to receive 100 French-made Rafale F4 fighter jets in ‘historic’ deal

Ukraine is to receive up to 100 French Rafale F4 fighter jets as well as advanced air defense systems in a major deal to bolster Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against deadly Russian attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the move as “historic” after signing a letter of intent with French President Emmanuel Macron at an air force base near Paris.

Deliveries of the Rafale F4 are scheduled to be completed by 2035, while joint production of interceptor drones will begin this year.

Financial details have yet to be determined, but there are reports that France plans to attract EU financing and gain access Freezing Russian assets – a controversial move that split the 27-member bloc.

“This is a strategic agreement that will last for ten years starting next year,” Zelensky told a joint news conference with Macron on Monday.

He added that Ukraine would also receive a “very powerful French radar,” eight air defense systems and other advanced weapons.

Zelensky stressed that using such advanced systems “means protecting someone’s life… which is very important.”

Russia has increased drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent months, targeting energy and rail infrastructure and causing massive blackouts across the country.

Dozens of civilians were killed in the attack, which Kyiv and its Western allies called a war crime. Three people were killed and 15 injured in the latest nighttime Russian missile attack in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Balaklia, local officials said.

“We are planning to buy Rafale fighter jets, 100 Rafale fighter jets, a huge number. This is what the Ukrainian army needs to revive,” Macron said, speaking alongside Zelensky.

The French president added that he wanted to help Ukraine prepare for whatever comes next.

The Rafale fighter jets are considered vital to protecting Ukraine’s skies, as the country has little ability to stop long-range air strikes on its border towns.

Ukrainian defense analyst Serhiy Kuzhan told the BBC that “Russia uses 6,000 glide bombs every month.” “Having a French air-to-air system with a range of 200 kilometers is very important because Russia also has its own system with a range of 230 kilometers.”

While this announcement between Kiev and Paris is significant, Justin Blanc of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) noted that “the impact they have will depend on the time frame and accompanying missiles.”

This is a long-term political agreement, not a detailed purchase order, so few expected the announcement to significantly change the dynamics of Russia’s brutal invasion.

The promise of Western military hardware is only as good as the training and logistics that come with it. Whether it’s a German-made Leopard 2 tank or an American F-16 fighter jet, they all require intensive training, a large number of support personnel and a large number of spare parts.

For the Rafale, the question of who pays becomes more complicated. France is thought to be using its own budget contributions to Kyiv and seeking an EU joint borrowing facility to help pay for the deal.

But the EU’s corridors of power in Brussels acknowledge privately that funds are slowly running out.

The EU has agreed to help support Ukraine’s battered economy over the next two years, but there is less consensus on whether to unfreeze 140 billion euros ($162 billion; £123 billion) of frozen Russian assets to help support Ukraine financially and militarily.

The proposals are currently illegal under international law, and some members are nervous about the prospect of having to repay debts to Russia after the war ends.

The Ukrainian Air Force is also already using French Mirage fighter jets Same as the American made F-16. Kiev also recently tentatively agreed to purchase Swedish Gripen fighter jets.

After France, Zelensky will travel to Spain to seek further military and other support for Ukraine.

Over the weekend, he struck a gas deal with Greece. Significant supplies of U.S. LNG expected to begin flowing into Ukraine this winter Via the Trans-Balkans Pipeline.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukraine, and despite reports of heavy casualties in the fighting, Russian forces have been advancing slowly along the vast frontline.