After tanks, Ukraine asks France to supply fighter jets

PARIS

After requesting France for Leclerc main battle tanks, a Kyiv official on Tuesday demanded Paris to send fighter jets to protect Ukrainian airspace.

Addressing at the French National Assembly as part of his visit to Paris, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of Ukrainian parliament, called on French lawmakers to provide more weapons to Ukraine, including the French Leclerc tanks, Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter jets.

"Thanks to France, Ukrainians know new words, such as Crotale, Caesar, LRU, AMX-10RC. We are ready to enrich our vocabulary and see French Leclerc among Leopard, Abrams and Challenger, which will strengthen us on land. And Mirage and Rafale! They and other aircraft will protect the sky!," he said.

Stefanchuk also had talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, and discussed the "provision of weapons and support for Ukrainian armed forces." He said he also raised the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU, President Volodymy Zelenskyy's 10-point peace formula, and "bringing Russia to justice and international isolation of Russia."

Separately, he met French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, with whom he deliberated on the "importance of providing Ukraine with weapons, Kyiv's path to the EU, the situation in the energy sector, and the creation of a special tribunal to bring Russia to justice."

Macron on Monday said France does not exclude sending fighter jets to Ukraine, a move US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have ruled out.

In a U-turn last week, Germany decided to deliver 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, and approve requests from partners to transfer their German-made Leopards to Ukraine.

The US, meanwhile, also announced sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

Early January, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also confirmed that the UK will send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.

*Burak Bir contributed to this report