Ukraine plans to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes and air defense systems from France

PARIS (AP) — Ukraine on Monday signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes, drones, air defense systems and other key equipment from France over the next 10 years, as part of efforts to strengthen the country's long-term security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who signed the document with French President Emmanuel Macron, called it “a historic deal” at a joint news conference at the Elysée presidential palace. The letter is a preliminary commitment of Ukraine stating its interest in buying a series of French defense equipment.

“Firstly, Ukraine will be able to receive 100 Rafale fighter jets (and) very strong French radars — eight air-defense systems SAMP/T, each with six launching systems," Zelenskyy said. "This is a strategic agreement that will work for 10 years, starting next year."

Macron praised “a new step forward” in the France-Ukraine relationship.

He said Monday’s agreement includes France’s latest-generation jet fighters with full armament, as well as accompanying training and production programs.

The Rafale is France’s most advanced fighter jet, a high-tech, delta-winged, multi-role warplane known for its maneuverability and efficiency. It has been deployed in the country’s foreign military operations including in the Middle East and Africa, and comes at a cost estimated at over $100 million per aircraft.

The letter of intent also includes the acquisition of drones and drone interceptors, guided bombs and the next-generation SAMP/T ground-to-air systems, with first deliveries expected over the next three years, Macron said.

The chief of the French defense staff, Air Force Gen. Fabien Mandon, this month told French senators that the European-made SAMP/T that France provided to Ukraine are proving more effective than U.S.-made Patriot batteries against hard-to-hit Russian missiles.

No schedule was provided for the delivery of the first Rafales.

A French government official said training a Rafale pilot takes at least three years.

The official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the issue, said France is able to produce and accelerate the production of Rafales and won’t need to use the warplanes currently in service by the French military to supply Ukraine. The official said the agreement with Ukraine won't derail the delivery of Rafales to other foreign clients.

The plane manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, has sold more than 500 Rafales, including more than 300 for export to countries including Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia.

Zelenskyy, on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.

Last month, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages.

“I can tell you that this is a very serious fleet that we are building for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. “For example, those pilots who have practice with Mirage jets, we know it very well that they won’t spend a year to learn operating the future Rafale planes, they will instead quickly switch to them.”

France is among major suppliers of defense assistance to Ukraine.

On Monday morning, Macron and Zelenskyy visited an air base in the Paris outskirts. They later headed to Mont Valérien, west of Paris, the headquarters of a multinational force dubbed the “coalition of the willing" that France and Britain have been preparing with more than 30 other nations to deploy to Ukraine to police an eventual ceasefire.

French officials say the force could be deployed immediately after a ceasefire and would be stationed away from the front lines in an effort to help dissuade renewed Russian attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops make creeping gains on the battlefield.

No details were provided on Monday about the financing of the defense package for Ukraine. Kyiv is pushing to use money from Russia's frozen assets to pay for the weapons, but the European Union has not yet agreed to it.

“I believe that in the end we’ll reach an agreement to push this topic to the end and be able to use Russian assets for the European defense package, for Ukrainian production, and for the most part for the air defense systems from the United States of America," Zelenskyy said.

Zelensky made a stop in Greece on Sunday to sign an agreement to supply Ukraine with U.S. liquefied natural gas, and is due to travel to Spain on Tuesday.

Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris, Illia Novikov and Barry Hatton in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to the report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, attend a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Sarah Meyssonnier, Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 before a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, visit the offices of the future international force known as the coalition of the willing, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Mont Valerien in Suresnes, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter, drones and ammunitions are seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.

Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain's international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country's oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Persian Gulf.

Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.

Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.

In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported.

With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9% on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38% over what it cost when the war started.

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.

As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Persian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.

In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country's international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.

Kuwait's Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.

Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.

Following an attack on Iraq's Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country's oil terminals.

Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Persian Gulf port.

Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.

Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.

An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.

In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.

At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.

The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.

Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, also contributed to this report, along with AP journalists around the world.

Israel Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks during a meeting of the Security Council at U.N. headquarters, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A family enjoys the sunset with the view of the city skyline and Burj Khalifa, at Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Smoke rises after an explosion at the airport in Irbil, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man inspects a car damaged in an Israeli airstrike at the Ramlet al-Baida public beach in Beirut, Lebanon, early Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)