France indirectly confirms it eyes possibility of donating warplanes to Ukraine
The French leader stated this following an international Ukraine support meeting held in Paris on Monday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“We are considering opportunities that can be useful. Among our coalitions is the F-16 one. It is out there. We do not have any F-16s as you know because we have our own capabilities. But we look at our own capabilities to see what can be useful to protect Ukrainian land,” Macron said.
He also clarified that "today we are not talking about Mirage planes" at the same time, France is training Ukrainian pilots and "will continue to do so."
As reported earlier, France’s multi -purpose fighter jet Dassault Rafale is now at the service with the French army. Last year, the French Ministry of Defense ordered 42 such aircraft.
Macron also listed five categories of actions on which the participants in the Ukraine support meeting reached a consensus. Among them is the "ability to support Ukraine on the border with Belarus with non-military capabilities", joint production of weapons, military capabilities, and ammunition in Ukraine, protection of countries that are directly threatened by Russian offensive in Ukraine, including Moldova, as well as cybersecurity and "mine clearance operations".
Among the decisions of the Paris meeting was also the creation of a new, ninth, coalition of long-range capabilities.
Photo: EPA