Emmanuel Macron has said that he believes that a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine could be struck as early as next year, as he announced that Kyiv had purchased 100 fighter jets in a landmark deal.
Speaking to reporters at the Elysee Palace at a press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky, the French President said he hoped that an agreement could be reached before the French presidential election in April 2027.
The Ukrainian president touched down in Paris on Monday morning, where he was greeted by his French counterpart to seal deals on the supply of air-defence capabilities, warplanes and missiles.
Within hours of his touch down, Mr Zelensky announced that Kyiv would order the twin-engined jets, with the news later confirmed by Élysée Palace.
The Rafale is a twin-engine jet built by Dassault Aviation, and typically used for a wide range of missions including air superiority, nuclear deterrence and close air support.
Rafale jets will be ‘significant’ in long-term Russia deterrence, says military expert
The purchase of 100 French Rafale fighter jets will be “significant” in Ukraine’s long-term deterrence of Russia, an expert on the Russian military has told The Independent.
Volodymyr Zelensky and the French presidential palace have confirmed that Kyiv’s air force will purchase the jets, the latest in a Ukrainian drive to boost its air capabilities.
“Ukraine’s current round of purchasing high-end systems like Rafale and Gripen combat aircraft are to do with establishing long-term deterrence of Russia,” said Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and author of Who Will Defend Europe? An Awakened Russia and a Sleeping Continent.
“Ukraine knows that whatever the outcome of the current war, its existence depends on being able to persuade Russia that the costs of future attacks will be too high.”
He says that Rafale’s “multi-role capabilities, including carrying air to ground weapons”, will be “significant for the relationship with Russia in the long run”.
Kyiv may be thinking forward to a time when it can “dominate the Russian Air Force to such an extent that it can strike deep into Russia with a much wider range of weapon systems than it currently has”, therefore making clear to Moscow the damage the country would suffer if it were to attack again, Mr Giles added.
Watch: Greece and Ukraine sign US gas supply deal as Zelensky visits Athens
Europe needs to keep ‘cool heads’, says Finnish leader Stubb
Finland’s president Alexander Stubb said European nations need to keep “cool heads”, after Poland called an attack on its railway network “an unprecedented act of sabotage”.
He warned about overreacting to incidents of alleged Russian disruption, warning that “this is unfortunately the new normal”.
“What Russia is trying to do is to destabilise our societies through information and other campaigns,” he said.
In an interview at a Finnish military base, Stubb said Moscow is conducting “two types of warfare” – a kinetic war in Ukraine and a hybrid war in Europe.
“The line between war and peace has been blurred,” Stubb said.
Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by the Associated Press.
Moscow’s goal, Western officials say, is to undermine support for Ukraine, spark fear and divide European societies.
EU chief proposes three options to finance Ukraine
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to European Union governments that there are three options for meeting Ukraine’s financing needs, including a loan using frozen Russian assets.
“We have identified three main options, i.e. support to be financed by Member States via grants, a limited recourse loan funded by the Union borrowing on the financial markets, or a limited recourse loan linked to the cash balances of immobilised assets,” von der Leyen said in the letter, seen by Reuters.
In an options paper attached to the letter, von der Leyen added that “the three options are not mutually exclusive. They can be combined or sequenced”.
“Given the urgency of the situation, varying complexity of the options, and the need to start disbursements by the second quarter of 2026, any selected option could be designed as transitional and time limited,” she said in the paper.
Her letter comes after EU leaders agreed last month to fulfil Ukraine’s urgent financial needs for the next two years. However, they did not endorse a plan to use frozen Russian assets after Belgium objected to it being used to fund a giant loan to Kyiv.
Leaders from all EU countries except Hungary asked the Commission to come up with options for financially supporting Ukraine.
Putin ally Viktor Orban claims Ukraine has ‘no chance’ of winning war
“The situation and the time is better for the Russians than for us. Don’t continue. Stop it as soon as we can,” he told Mathias Dopfner on the MD Meets podcast, aired on Saturday.
Trump would back Russia sanctions bill if he retains final authority
President Donald Trump is willing to sign legislation to impose sanctions on Russia as long as he retains ultimate decision-making authority over any such measures, a senior White House official said.
Trump told reporters late on Sunday that it was “OK with me” that Republicans were working on legislation to impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia over Moscow’s failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
These comments from the US president could clear the way for the legislation to move forward in Congress.
Leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives have held off bringing the legislation to a vote as Trump has preferred instead to impose tariffs on goods imported from India, the world’s second-leading buyer of Russian oil after China.
Asked if Trump was now ready to back the legislation, the White House official said: “He would sign it. He signalled that last night.
“But the White House will insist on specific language ensuring that Trump retains control over the sanctions, the official said.
“It’s always been important to the White House and the president that there’s a carve-out in the sanctions package that ensures the president has the ultimate decision-making authority on the sanctions,” they said. “So as long as that is included, I think the president would entertain signing the bill.”
‘Foreign state’ behind explosion on Polish railway track used to send weapons to Ukraine, says minister
An explosion that damaged a Polish railway track en route to Ukraine was the work of a “foreign state”, a Polish minister said on Monday.
Poland’s security services minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said the attack on a section of the track near Mika village marked “a new stage of threatening the railway infrastructure”.
A train driver had reported damage on the railway line on Sunday, local police said. The damaged stretch was some 80 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Russia has dealt with consequences of Ukrainian attack on Black Sea port, says Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia had the capacity to quickly deal with the consequences of a Ukrainian attack on its port of Novorossiysk and to resume export activities.
Two industry sources said and LSEG data showed that the port resumed oil loadings on Sunday after a two-day suspension triggered by the Ukrainian attack.
Sources from Ukraine’s SSU security service told Ukrainska Pravda that it had destroyed four launchers for an S-400 Triumph air defence missile system and two radars in the Russian Black Sea port city on 14 November.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joins advisory board of Ukraine’s leading defense company amid probe
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of Ukraine’s leading defence company, renowned for its long-range drones capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, as a corruption investigation continues.
In an effort to enhance its international reputation, Fire Point, which produces the Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile, is establishing a new factory in Denmark and bringing prominent industry figures on board. It also aims to expand its operations to produce battle-tested cruise missiles, with plans to more than double its current capacity.
However, public scrutiny remains intense during an ongoing corruption investigation. Fire Point’s executives insist they have nothing to hide and are operating under strict martial law protocols, even commissioning an independent audit to appease investigators.
Rafale fighter jet deal part of 10-year agreement – Reuters
Reuters is reporting that France’s provision of multi-role Rafale fighter jets will be part of a 10-year strategic aviation agreement, citing two people briefed on the batter.
Some could come directly from French stocks, although the bulk would be longer-term and part of Ukraine’s efforts to increase its long-term fleet to 250 warplanes, including the US F-16 and Sweden’s Gripen, they said.
Operating the advanced jets would take time given the rigorous training programme for pilots.
There have been talks for several weeks to see how France could provide more military support for Ukraine’s air defences, although Macron’s government is grappling with political and budgetary instability, raising questions over how much France can actually do.
Macron pledged last month to offer more Mirage fighter jets, after initially promising to deliver six, and a new batch of Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles, produced by European group MBDA, for the SAMP/T air-defence batteries operated by Ukraine.
