Ukraine will purchase “up to 100” French-made Rafale fighter jets as well as anti-air defenses and drones from France, the Elysee Palace confirmed, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris Monday.
At the Villacoublay Air Force Base southwest of Paris, he signed a letter of intent with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday morning regarding the purchase, although the exact details of the deal have not been disclosed.
This was Zelensky’s ninth visit to Paris since the 2022 Russian invasion, as France has become a central pillar of Western support for Ukraine, particularly given the unpredictability of US weapons supplies.
In a powerful show of Franco-Ukrainian military cooperation, the leaders inked the agreement in front of a Rafale jet loaded up with guided AASM bombs and beside a SCALP cruise missile that Paris has already supplied to Kyiv.
The two leaders were flanked by a SAMP/T missile interceptor system and a GF300 radar system that France has also sent to Ukraine.
The Rafale is a multi-role fourth generation fighter jet, similar in role to the American F-16, capable of carrying out long-range bombing and dogfighting tasks in the same mission, according to the French military.
France has previously provided Kyiv with Mirage jets, which form the backbone of France’s aerial bomber force.
