As Zelenskyy visits for D-Day, Macron promises Ukraine Mirage aircraft to fend off Russian attacks

By SAMYA KULLAB, SYLVIE CORBET and BARBARA SURK
Associated Press

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says France will provide Ukraine with its Mirage combat aircraft to be able to defend their country against Russian aggression. Macron spoke after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined world leaders in France on Thursday to commemorate the D-Day invasion and seek more Western help to stave off a Russian onslaught near the eastern city of Kharkiv in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. Macron said he will announce the sale of Mirage 2005, the French-made combat aircraft, on Friday, which will “allow Ukraine to protect its soil, its airspace” against Russian attacks. He says France will also start training Ukrainian pilots.