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Ukraine hopes to receive 100 French Rafale fighter jets by 2035 — Zelensky

The agreement was signed by Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Zelensky at the Velizy-Villacoublay air base near Paris earlier in the day

MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Ukraine hopes to receive 100 French-made Rafale fighter jets under the military assistance agreement with Paris by 2035, Vladimir Zelensky said after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The agreement was signed by Macron and Zelensky at the Velizy-Villacoublay air base near Paris earlier in the day. Details of the deal have not been disclosed.

"This is a document that gives our country an opportunity to acquire military equipment manufactured by the French defense industry, including 100 Rafale F4 jets for Ukraine’s combat aviation by 2025, SAMP-T air defense systems, radars to air defense systems, air-to-air missiles and aircraft bombs," Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that Ukraine and France also plan to launch joint drone production projects starting this year.

Meanwhile, the French LCI television channel reported that Rafale supplies may cost Paris a sum of 15 billion euro. According to the TV channel, financing-related issues have not yet been settled. Moreover, it anticipated that it would not be an easy task for the authorities to persuade lawmakers to agree to allocate that much money amid the budgetary deficit.

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