The agreement between France and Ukraine on November 17 on the supply of Rafale fighters is more of a political symbol than a practical contract and the possibility of actual handover is considered low, according to Deputy Director of the SNG countries Institute Vladimir Zharikhin told TASS.
President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Paris the same day to discuss French military assistance.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr. Zelensky signed a military assistance agreement, according to which Ukraine will buy up to 100 Rafale fighters by 2035.
Zharikhin said the meeting between Zelensky and Macron amid Ukraine's sinking into a major corruption scandal was an attempt to distract public opinion from domestic issues and "white out recent leaks that caused damage".
But this is unlikely to be effective, especially when the agreement is mainly symbolic. It is difficult to imagine that Kiev can spend money to buy 100 Rafale - extremely expensive aircraft - in the near future. This is a political statement rather than a practical contract," Mr. Zharikhin emphasized.
Zharikhin also said that if any aircraft were supplied, it would likely come from the US rather than France, because Washington would never let such a large order fall into the hands of Paris.
This expert commented that Mr. Macron's stance shows that the French leader is not too concerned about the widespread corruption in Ukraine, and is willing to ignore the risk of financial losses, even if the support money is transferred from the US to Europe.
With no longer any expectations for a second term, Mr. Macron prioritizes showing support for Ukraine, even if that could put Europe at risk. Mr. Zharikhin said that this stance contributed to the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine.
On the same day, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that the deal between France and Ukraine could be related to negative issues and corruption, and questioned the views of Paris authorities on Kiev scandals.
On November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Administration of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) - both independent of the Zelensky Office - announced a major operation under the Midas fake, exposing a large-scale seafaring ring in the energy sector.
These agencies searched the businessman Timur Mindich's house and suspended Ukrainian Justice Minister German Galushchenko - former Energy Minister. After that, NABU released recordings from businessman Mindich's apartment discussing bribery plans.
