French fighter jets for Ukraine: Macron pledges new cooperation

Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday the transfer of French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine. In addition, the French president revealed that his country will train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers.

In a television interview, the French president discussed the transfer of the fighter jets without specifying their number. Reuters reported that it concerns the sale of these planes.

Macron said the Mirage jets will help Ukraine "protect its skies." During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he announced the beginning of "a new cooperation," including aircraft matters.

He added that a "pilot training program" was also planned and explained that he had proposed training 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers.

When asked about the potential deployment of French military instructors to Ukraine, he stated there should be no "taboo topics." "The territory of Ukraine is sovereign. It's not about sending troops to train in the conflict zone, but when Ukraine is facing a challenge, it should respond as we have done every time," he said.

He argued that Paris wants to help Ukraine defend itself but does not want to "escalate the war." He also assured that France is not "aggressive towards Russia."

The French leader also confirmed the detention by Russian authorities of a citizen of his country, Laurent Vinatier. He emphasized that the detainee was not working for France but for a Swiss non-governmental organization. In Moscow, the Investigative Committee announced that the Frenchman is suspected of gathering sensitive information regarding the Russian armed forces.