Macron sends fighter jets and troops to train Ukrainian soldiers

Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday the transfer of French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine. In addition, the President of France announced that his country would train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers.

In a television interview, the French president spoke about the transfer of the fighter jets without specifying their number. Reuters reported that it was concerned about the sale of these planes.

Macron said that the Mirage jets will help Ukraine protect its skies." He announced the beginning of a "new cooperation," including aircraft, during a meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He added that a "pilot training program" is also planned and proposed "training 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers."

When asked about the potential deployment of French military instructors to Ukraine, he said there should be no "taboo topics." "Ukraine's territory is sovereign. It's not about sending troops to train in the conflict zone, but when Ukraine is facing a challenge, it should respond as we have done every time," he said.

He argued that Paris wants to help Ukraine defend itself but does not want to "escalate the war." He also assured that France would not be "aggressive towards Russia."

The French leader also confirmed the detention by Russian authorities of a citizen of his country, Laurent Vinatier. He emphasized that the detainee was not working for France but for a Swiss non-governmental organization. In Moscow, the Investigative Committee announced that the Frenchman is suspected of gathering sensitive information regarding the Russian armed forces.