French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the supply of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine and will also train its troops. France has announced the delivery of its Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine to help defend the country against Russian aggression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined world leaders in France to commemorate the D-Day invasion, after which President Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine.
On Thursday evening, President Macron said that we will start a new collaboration and send the Mirage 2000-5S. According to news agency Xinhua, the French leader has also promised to train an entire Ukrainian battalion of 4,500 soldiers to be deployed on the battlefield.
He further said that the delivery of French fighter jets to Ukraine “will not increase tension” and also promised that these French fighter jets will not be used to bomb civilians. President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of sending military trainers to Ukraine.
The Mirage 2000 is a French multi-role, single-engine fourth-generation fighter aircraft built by Dassault Aviation.
Macron suggested during a meeting in Paris at the end of February that European countries should send troops to Ukraine. However, many other European countries, including Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, did not agree with his opinion.
Following comments made by Macron in February, Russia warned that if NATO sent troops into Ukraine, outright war between the organization and Russia could begin.
Earlier on Thursday, Macron presided over a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach in Normandy in northern France.
According to a live broadcast by French media BFMTV, about 20 heads of state, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Joe Biden, took part in the event.
On Tuesday, US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jack Sullivan told reporters on his way to France for the ceremony that the US would maintain its policy of not sending military advisers to Ukraine.
On June 6, 1944, the battle to liberate France from the Nazis began at a place called Normandy. June 6 is celebrated as ‘D-Day’ in France. Zelensky was in France to seek more help from the West, while his forces were struggling near the eastern city of Kharkiv to fend off a Russian offensive. It has become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.