The French authorities have decided to create an agency for the development of Ukraine, Reuters reported citing the Elysee Palace. Paris will allocate 450 million euros for the implementation of the agency’s programs, 400 million of which will be loans, while 50 million will be donated.
In addition, France will open a fund for the development of Ukrainian critical infrastructure, which will be allocated another 200m euros.
On June 6-7, France is holding events to mark the 80th anniversary of the landing of the Allied forces in Normandy, which became one of the key events of the Second World War. Heads of 25 states and governments were invited to the celebration, including US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russian representatives were not invited to the celebrations.
A day earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris would hand over Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft to Kyiv and launch a training program for Ukrainian pilots to learn how to fly the fighter jets. The training will start this summer and will take “five to six months”, while the transfer of the planes will take place closer “to the end of the year”, Macron added. At the same time, he specified that Kyiv will get the right to use the Mirage 2000-5 for strikes against objects on Russian territory.
France may transfer to the Ukrainian side about 20 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets, which are a modernized version of the fourth-generation Mirage 2000, Forbes has learned. These aircraft are capable of using cruise missiles SCALP-EG, which Paris has already transferred to Kiev, as well as “smart” air bombs AASM Hammer.
Macron also promised to help train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers. “Is this a factor of escalation? In my opinion, the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of France is not”, the head of state emphasized.
