French President Emmanuel Macron frustrated the hopes of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, by asserting that the combat aircraft demanded by Kiev “cannot under any circumstances be delivered in the coming weeks,” stressing that he prefers “more useful weapons that are delivered faster.”
After a European summit attended by Zelensky, Macron spoke about the issue of delivering fighter jets to Ukraine, saying: “I don’t rule out anything at all, but this does not match today’s needs,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Throughout his European tour on Wednesday and Thursday, the Ukrainian president insisted that his country needed fighter jets to end the Russian-led war..
Macron stressed that his “very deep and very precise discussion” with Zelensky, on Wednesday in Paris, showed that “the priority is to do everything to help (Ukraine) resist in the coming weeks.”
He continued, “It is necessary for the allies to give preference to the most useful equipment, which is delivered in a faster form,” noting that the Caesar guns and the medium-range air defense system MAMBA Submitted by France “meets these criteria”.
It should be noted that Britain For its part, it had played down the possibility of Kiev handing over “Typhoon” fighters of old models, but said it would start training Ukrainian pilots in addition to considering sending planes “in the long term”, despite the concerns of the United States and other allies in NATO. To get more involved in the war.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said during his visit to Rome that he was working to send British-made Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, but he needed permission from other European countries to send Typhoon planes.
He stressed that “Britain did not say that it would necessarily send combat aircraft to Ukraine,” explaining, “What it said is that we will start training to improve Ukraine’s capabilities, and perhaps after the end of the conflict.”
