Representative image of Rafale fighter jets.
Credit: Reuters photo
Kyiv, Ukraine: France pledged Monday to sell up to 100 Rafale fighter jets to Ukraine in a show of European support as the Trump administration has limited its military backing for the country.
The agreement, which includes a range of French defense equipment in addition to the warplanes, will have a limited immediate effect on Ukraine’s war against Russia. The timeline for delivering the systems extends to 2035.
But the deal, which came weeks after Sweden agreed to sell up to 150 fighter jets to Ukraine, signaled a determination by Europe to help defend Ukraine against long-term threats from Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who was in France to meet with the president Monday, said on social media that the agreement was “truly historic for both our nations.”
French President Emmanuel Macron called the deal an important step toward bringing the French and Ukrainian defense industries closer together as Ukraine’s sovereignty is challenged by Russia’s “imperialist and, frankly, neocolonialist instincts.”
“Ukraine belongs to the European family,” Macron said.
The agreement is deliberately spread over a 10-year window, France said, to provide lasting support for Ukraine and to space out the financing, some of which is intended to be covered by European programs.
The deal includes air-defense equipment, air-to-air missiles and aerial bombs, along with joint defense-sector projects set to begin this year. The two countries will also work on producing interceptor drones together.
The drawn-out timeline for receiving the equipment prompted criticism among Ukrainian commentators who said their country needed more help immediately to defend itself as Russia accelerates its gains on the battlefield.
Some pointed to a deal Ukraine signed with similar fanfare last month for up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen E fighter jets, which are also expected to be delivered over a decade-long period.
“Zelenskyy is trying to sell the same case again, but in new packaging,” commentator Boryslav Bereza wrote on social media.
Still, political and military experts in Ukraine said they considered the deal a positive signal from Europe. If the jets are delivered, they will help expand a Ukrainian fleet that currently has only a small number of American-made F-16s and French Mirage warplanes, in addition to Soviet-era aircraft.
“This agreement clearly gives political points to Macron and Zelenskyy, but it is also militarily important,” said Mykhailo Samus, the director of the independent New Geopolitics Research Network in Kyiv.
He added that Ukraine’s deals with France and Sweden showed that countries had other options for military purchases as the United States’ support of allies wavered under the Trump administration.
“European countries might soon start asking, ‘Why are we buying American?’" Samus said.