As Zelenskyy visits for D-Day, Macron promises Ukraine Mirage aircraft to fend off Russian attacks
French President Emmanuel Macron says France will provide Ukraine with its Mirage combat aircraft to be able to defend their country against Russian aggression
KHARKIV, Ukraine — French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will provide Ukraine with its Mirage combat aircraft to help the country's defense against Russia's aggression. He spoke after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined world leaders in France to commemorate the D-Day invasion.
Zelenskyy was also in France to seek more Western help even as his forces battle to stave off a Russian onslaught near the eastern city of Kharkiv in a war that has become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
Macron told the French public broadcaster he will announce Friday a new cooperation with Ukraine and the sale of French-made combat aircraft, the Mirage 2005, which will “allow Ukraine to protect its soil, its airspace” against Russian attacks.
France will also start training Ukrainian pilots, Macron said as he reiterated that Ukraine should be allowed to use weapons provided by its Western allies to target Russian military targets and “neutralize the points from which (the country) is being attacked.”
The Netherlands and Denmark promised last year to give F-16 warplanes to Ukraine and the United States is training Ukrainian pilots at a base in Arizona. Macron did not specify when the French combat aircraft would arrive.
Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, attended the 80th anniversary events in Normandy with President Joe Biden and European leaders who have supported Kyiv’s efforts in the war, now in its third year. Zelenskyy will meet with French officials in Paris on Friday.
Although the promise of French aircraft will be welcome in Kyiv,
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