The presidents of Ukraine and France will sign a major military agreement during a meeting on Monday, which will likely include supplies Rafale fighters Kiev. About this in my blog writes French journalist Jean-Dominique Merchet, diplomatic and military correspondent for the daily newspaper L'Opinion.

He refers to information provided to him by the Elysee Palace. In particular, they said that representatives of industry will be present at the meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky, and a protocol of intent will be signed. The Elysee Palace specified that the meeting will discuss Rafale fighters and their weapons, SAMP/T NG anti-aircraft missile systems with Aster 30 B1 NT missiles, GF300 radars, and drones.

"The delivery of several dozen Rafale fighters could be a significant enough event to be called 'historic'. According to our information, this would indeed be a 'very large long-term commitment' comparable to what was recently announced between Ukraine and Sweden," the journalist writes, referring to Kyiv's intention to purchase over a hundred Swedish fighters.

However, as Jean-Dominique Merchet notes, much will depend on the form of the Ukrainian-French commitments. In particular, he expressed doubt that France would share the aircraft already in service with its air force. The French military already complains that they themselves do not have enough aircraft.

According to the journalist, the likely scenario is the delivery of new aircraft to Ukraine directly from the manufacturer, but this will take time. It could be at least three years from the signing of the agreement to the transfer of the fighters. Especially considering that there is already a queue for these aircraft.

Another important question: who will pay for these planes.

The Great Deal with France: What is Known

As UNIAN reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously reported that Ukraine and France Tomorrow they are supposed to sign a major military agreement The president himself called it"historic" and said it would "significantly" strengthen Ukrainian aviation,"our sky defense," and "other defense capabilities."

In addition, Zelensky announced his visit to Spain for Tuesday. According to him, this country has joined"initiatives that really help us." In this context, he mentioned the topic of air defense.