”A great day”: French President Emmanuel Macron in a message published in To the message, Macron attached a photo of himself with the Ukrainian president, at the time of the signing, at the Villacoublay military base, just outside Paris.
According to the Elysée, this agreement, projected “over a period of about ten years”, envisages possible future contracts for “Ukraine’s acquisition of new French defense equipment”: “around 100 Rafales, with associated armament”, as well as other weaponry, including the new generation Samp-T air defense system under development, radar systems and drones.
According to the French presidency, the memorandum of understanding between Paris and Kiev also concerns the “new acquisition of propulsion bombs (AASM Hammer)”, and drones. Last month, Zelensky signed a letter of intent to acquire 100-150 Swedish Gripen fighters.
“New planes, new reinforcements, new measures to strengthen our army and our country. I am very grateful to France, President Emmanuel Macron and the entire French people.” So said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at X after signing a letter of mind with Macron. The document allows Ukraine to acquire military equipment from the French industrial and defense technology base, namely 100 Rafale F4 aircraft by 2035 for Ukrainian combat aviation, Samp-T air defense systems, air defense radars, air-to-air missiles and air bombs. Joint projects between defense industries will also start this year. The two countries will jointly produce interceptor drones and work to develop critical technologies and components that can be integrated into Ukrainian drones.
The Ukrainian president arrived at Villacoublay military airport, near Paris, minutes before 10am. He contacted Emmanuel Macron who was waiting for him in a car at the military base. The two greeted each other with a warm hug.
At least three people killed and ten people injured were the toll of Russian attacks that hit Balakliya this evening, in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine. Local authorities have announced this.
Moscow says 36 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian territory tonight. This was reported by the Tass news agency citing the Ministry of Defense.
Russia attacked energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odessa and Donetsk regions. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy. Repair and restoration work is being carried out on damaged energy infrastructure, Ukrainian media reported. The department reminds that currently, in most regions of Ukraine, the program of interruptions and hourly capacity restrictions for industrial consumers and businesses is in effect from 00:00 to 23:59.
Fires broke out in energy infrastructure and ports in the Odessa region following a Russian drone strike, which left one person injured. So wrote Ukrinform, citing the State Emergency Service of Ukraine from Facebook. “Russia again attacked the Odessa region with drone attacks. The impact caused fires in energy infrastructure and ports,” the report said. Based on initial information, one person was injured. The State Emergency Service Unit and local firefighters were involved to eliminate the impact of the attack. As reported on Facebook by the Head of the Odessa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper, explosions were heard in several cities in the region during the massive Russian offensive. “Even though the air defense functioned effectively, there were consequences for energy and port infrastructure. Several civilian ships were damaged during the attack. The fires that occurred were immediately extinguished by rescue teams,” the report said. Also on the night of November 16, the Russians attacked a power plant south of the Odessa region, and a solar power plant was damaged.
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Tusk, Polish train accident was sabotage
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in X that reports believe Sunday’s accident on the Polish railway line between Warsaw and Lublin was deliberate sabotage. Unfortunately, the worst hypothesis has been confirmed. The act of sabotage took place on the Warsaw-Lublin line (Mika village). A bomb explodes and destroys the railroad tracks. The department and the prosecutor’s office are working at the scene. Damage was also found on the same route, closer to Lublin, Tusk said.
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