Neither Ukraine nor France has the funds to implement the declaration on supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Rafale jets — Politico

There are no funds either in Ukraine or in France to implement the agreement announced yesterday between Paris and Kyiv on the delivery of 100 Rafale fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force over the next 10 years.

This was reported by Politico, citing sources.

“The plan for Ukraine to purchase Rafales in addition to Gripens raises quite a few eyebrows. They don’t have the money. Much will depend on the frozen Russian assets,” a senior European diplomat told the outlet.

The publication writes that the “deplorable state of public finances” in France also rules out using French money for the purchase. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the future purchase could be financed through European instruments and frozen Russian assets. At the same time, Paris does not plan to take combat aircraft from its own stocks or give Ukraine priority over other buyers of military equipment. But the Rafale manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, is considering increasing production to five fighters per month.

“Even if we had the money, we wouldn’t get these aircraft quickly. No one in the world just sells them in sufficient quantities. Just google how many countries are in line for Rafales. And I doubt anyone will allow Ukraine to get them first, bypassing the queue,” a Ukrainian military official said.

Experts say that implementing the deal “will take a long time and cannot be an answer to immediate emergencies on the battlefield.”

They also note that with its current economic problems, Ukraine will not be able to maintain, on its own and without external assistance, an air fleet of 200–250 aircraft, which it plans to acquire.

It should be recalled that on Monday Volodymyr Zelensky and Macron signed a declaration of intent on Ukraine’s purchase of military equipment. In other words, this is not yet a full-fledged agreement, but only a document of intent.