Moscow has warned that a potential contract on Rafale procurement could pave the way for corruption<\/p>\n
Ukraine plans to acquire up to 100 French-made Rafale fighter jets over the next decade, along with other weapons, including air defense systems, the leaders of the two countries have announced. Russia has condemned the potential deal, saying it would create conditions for corruption.
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky signed a letter of intent on the purchase during the Ukrainian leader\u2019s visit to Paris on Monday.
\nSpeaking to LCI news channel, Macron said plans for the delivery of the jets are \u201cneeded for the regeneration of the Ukrainian military.\u201d Zelensky touted the plan as a \u201cstrategic agreement\u201d and \u201ca historic deal.\u201d
\nThe letter is not a final contract but an initial commitment, and Macron did not provide a delivery timeline or give details on the financing mechanism, only saying he hopes the EU will help procure the jets.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Graft scandal has weakened Zelensky \u2013 Le Monde<\/p>\n
This comes as officials in Brussels have been debating a plan to use frozen Russian assets for a loan of \u20ac140 billion ($162 billion) for cash-strapped Ukraine. Moscow has condemned the asset freeze as \u201ctheft.\u201d
\nThe Rafale, France\u2019s most advanced multirole jet, is estimated at more than $90 million each. According to LCI, supplying 100 jets could ultimately cost around \u20ac15 billion.
\nThe agreement between France and Ukraine also includes eight next-generation SAMP\/T air-defense batteries now under development, AASM Hammer precision-guided munitions, drones, and French-made radars.
\nFormer Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, currently the deputy chair of Russia\u2019s Security Council, warned that France and its EU partners are assuming major risks by dealing with \u201ccorrupt\u201d Zelensky, adding that Western governments will later claim ignorance if wrongdoing is uncovered.
\n\u201cMaybe they took part in the graft with Rafale fighter jets, too. What say you, people of France?\u201d he wrote on X.
\nFrance has already transferred an undisclosed number of Mirage 2000 jets to Ukraine. Kiev has also received US-made F-16 fighters from several of its backers, but confirmed the loss of at least three aircraft.
\nMoscow has criticized Western weapons shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they prolong the conflict without altering the outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow has warned that a potential contract on Rafale procurement could pave the way for corruption Ukraine plans to acquire up to 100 French-made Rafale fighter jets over the next…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t