President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky signed a letter of intent on Monday for Ukraine to acquire up to 100 Rafale fighter jets and other air defence hardware from French companies, the French presidency said.
The accord was signed at the Vélizy-Villacoublay airbase some 30 km south-west of Paris.
It sets out possible future contracts for Ukraine to get the jets and their weapons as well as the new generation SAMP-T air defence system under development, radar systems and drones.
The letter of intent, which is not a purchase and sales contract, is projected to be realised “over a timeframe of about 10 years”, the French presidency added.
Zelensky, who has suffered setbacks over the last week due to a corruption scandal at home and Russian forces closing in on the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, wrote on social media ahead of the talks that he expected the meeting to result in a “historic deal”.
During his visit to the air base, Zelensky inspected Rafale fighter jets as well as air defence systems.
The aim of the accord is to “put French excellence in the arms industry at the service of Ukraine’s defence” and to “enable it (Kyiv) to acquire the systems it needs to respond to Russian aggression”, said the French president’s office.
Zelensky’s visit to France is his ninth since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He is due to hold talks with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI on Tuesday.
Sanchez’ office said he and Zelensky will discuss matters of common interest. “The trip will reaffirm Spain’s commitment to Ukraine in all areas,” said a spokesperson for Sanchez’ office.
Zelensky will also meet lawmakers from both chambers of the Spanish parliament in what will be his third visit to Spain.
On Sunday, Zelensky announced that he had signed a gas deal with Greece as Ukraine’s energy supply faces another gruelling winter under attack from Russian missiles.
Zelensky said on Friday that Russia had launched around 430 drones and 18 missiles in overnight attacks, primarily targeting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Four people were killed and dozens wounded.
“This was a deliberately calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky said.
He also said that the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk had suspended oil exports, after what local authorities described as a major Ukrainian drone attack.
