PARIS, August 25. /TASS/. France intends to formally restrict Ukraine’s purchases of weapons from countries outside the EU using money given to it by European countries, according to the Euronews television channel.

The European 2026-2027 program for the Kiev regime amounts to 90 billion euros to be disbursed for various needs, including military. The European Commission is supposed to approve all arms supply contracts it intends to pay for.

Under the prorgam, Ukraine cannot allocate more than 35% of the aid package to defense products manufactured outside the EU and the European Economic Area; however, it can request exemptions if certain goods are not produced in the EU or if production in the EU is more expensive or takes longer than required. According to the TV channel, Ukraine has secured exemptions that allow it to purchase weapons and equipment outside the EU using funds allocated by Europe, like Chinese components for drone production and US Patriot interceptors.

France’s military industry is one of the largest among EU countries. Together with Italy it produces the SAMP/T air defense system, which is Europe's version of the US Patriot.

"France, however, is pushing for these exemptions to be temporary, in an effort to ensure a greater share of the EU-backed funding ultimately supports European -- and potentially French -- production," Euronews said.

The TV channel also reminds that in July, the defense ministers of Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia sent letters to chief of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas, and European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius urging them to grant Ukraine maximum flexibility in purchasing the equipment it needs.

On Tuesday, European Commission Spokesman Balazs Ujvari said that the EC has not yet allowed Kiev to purchase Patriot air defense systems from the US with the EU funds. He noted that, in total, Ukraine has already submitted weapons contracts worth 22 billion euros to the European Commission. In total, this year the EC wants to provide Kiev with 28 billion euros for weapons purchases alone. Thus, Kiev still has a "financial cushion" of six billion euros, within which it can request permission from the European Commission to purchase any non·European weapons, including Patriot, and the EC will consider it, but this has not been done yet.