Zelenskyy Agrees to Buy 100 Fighter Jets From France to Boost Ukrainian Air Defenses

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal in France on Nov. 17 to purchase 100 fighter jets to bolster his country’s aerial defenses.

A letter of intent was signed by Zelenskyy and his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, at Villacoublay Air Base, located just outside Paris, during their meeting on the morning of Nov. 17.

The centerpiece of the deal is for Ukraine to purchase 100 Rafale fighter jets, manufactured by the French firm Dassault Aviation.

“It will be the greatest air defense, one of the greatest in the world,” Zelenskyy said after signing the letter, according to French news channel LCI.

“One hundred Rafales, that’s huge. But it’s what’s needed for the regeneration of the Ukrainian army,” Macron told LCI.

The purchase of the planes will take place over the next decade. The deal also includes purchases of SAMP/T air‑defense systems, air‑defense radars, air-to-air missiles, and aerial bombs, according to the letter of intent.

The agreement also provides for the possibility of technology transfer and joint aircraft production with localization in Ukraine, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office.

“I am very grateful to France from my very first visit. I thank Emmanuel Macron and all the French people. But this moment is something significant and truly historic for both our nations. New aircraft, new reinforcement, new steps to strengthen our army and our country,” Zelenskyy said.

Macron said the deal covers short-, medium-, and long-term needs, “and all of it is necessary.”

“Even if peace were signed tomorrow, this would still be essential, because the guarantee of that peace is a strong Ukrainian army able to hold its ground. These capabilities will provide that,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s visit to France is his ninth trip to the country since the war with Russia broke out in February 2022.

There have been discussions for several weeks about how Paris could provide more military support for Kyiv’s air defenses, despite political instability and budgetary concerns in France, which have raised questions over how much the country can actually afford to do.

In October, Macron said he would offer more Mirage fighter jets, after initially promising to deliver six, and a new batch of Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles, produced by European group MBDA, for the SAMP/T air-defense batteries operated by Kyiv.

Ahead of the visit, Macron’s office stated that the goal of the trip was to “put French excellence in the arms industry at the service of Ukraine’s defense” and “enable it to acquire the systems it needs to respond to Russian aggression.”

During his time in France, Zelenskyy will attend a briefing by various manufacturers on Nov. 17, according to a schedule released by the French president’s office and reported by French news network TFI.

A separate forum scheduled for the afternoon will see Ukrainian and French firms working in the drone sector discuss how they can combine their efforts.

After visiting France, Zelenskyy will head to Spain on Nov. 18 for talks with Madrid on the same topic, according to a statement on X posted Nov. 16.

France, along with the UK, has spearheaded the creation of a coalition of about 30 countries willing to send troops and assets to Ukraine once a peace deal with Russia is agreed upon.

Zelenskyy’s visit comes amid a corruption scandal in the Ukrainian energy sector, which has drawn rebuke from abroad and sparked widespread outrage within Ukraine.

The scandal centers on an alleged corruption scheme involving Energoatom, a state-owned enterprise that operates all four of the country’s nuclear power plants.

According to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Energoatom’s contractors have been forced to pay kickbacks and bribes to the scheme’s members in exchange for maintaining their status as suppliers and for not blocking their products and services.

Investigators alleged that roughly 100 million Ukrainian hryvnia, or about $2.3 million, was funneled through this system.

The scandal has implicated several prominent figures in the Zelenskyy administration, including former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, and former Defense Minister and current National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.

On Nov. 12, both Halushchenko and Hrynchuk submitted their resignations, a day after Zelenskyy demanded that they step down and called corruption in the energy sector “absolutely abnormal” during wartime.

Reuters contributed to this report.