France to train Ukrainian fighter pilots

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday his country has “opened the door” to training Ukrainian fighter pilots, a day after meeting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris and agreeing to send Kyiv more tanks.

“We have opened the door to training pilots, and this with several other European countries who are also ready,” Macron said during an interview with the TV channel TF1.

The president also said that “discussions were underway with the Americans.”

Zelenskyy is touring European capitals to drum up support ahead of a Ukrainian counter-offensive that is expected to take place in the coming weeks. He was in Paris on Sunday for a working dinner with the French president before heading to London on Monday.

Kyiv is now particularly focused on getting fighter jet donations from allies to regain control of its skies in the face of Russian air and drone strikes.

In the U.K., Zelenskyy said he wanted to create a “fighter jet coalition” to supply modern planes to Ukraine. But while the U.K. has also pledged to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Monday the issue “was not a straightforward thing.”

Asked if France was going to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine, Macron said that was not the plan, and that instead, France would deliver missiles. But he added that training could “start now.”

On Sunday, an official from the Elysée Palace, who was not authorized to speak publicly, appeared to downplay any possibility of France donating fighter jets, citing training issues.

“Before delivering a plane, you need to train pilots. It takes a long time. Ukrainian pilots are not trained to use French systems. They don’t speak French, let alone English,” said the official.