President Emmanuel Macron, long considered perhaps Europe’s foremost anti-Russia hawk, committed to sending his country’s Mirage-2000 warplanes to Ukraine during an appearance on French television Thursday.
“The goal is to have the pilots and the jets in Ukraine by the end of the year,” said the leader, committing to a plan also involving the training of Ukrainian troops to operate the bomber this summer. The pilots will receive instruction as part of a French effort to train 4,500 soldiers for Kiev, the president also revealed.
The aircraft, a single-engine, delta wing jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation, had been requested by Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk earlier this year.
Macron had refused to offer the plane to Ukraine as recently as February while signing a bilateral agreement with Kiev that nonetheless granted Volodymyr Zelensky an extra €3 billion in additional lethal aid this year.
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