French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Paris will provide Kyiv with Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets by the end of 2024 and will take over the training of Ukrainian pilots, France 2 TV channel reports.

“Tomorrow we will start a new cooperation program and announce the delivery of the Mirage 2000-5 series, French combat aircraft that will allow Ukraine to defend its land and airspace. Starting tomorrow, we will start a pilot training program and deliver these aircraft by the end of the year,” Macron said.

The French president did not specify the number of fighter jets that Paris intends to hand over to Kyiv, noting that the training of Ukrainian pilots by French instructors will last six months.

In addition, France will train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers and form a “French brigade.”

“The task is to train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers, equip them, teach them how to defend their land and form a French brigade,” the French president explained.

Macron also emphasized that there is no talk of French troops in Ukraine yet.

“The President of Ukraine and his defense minister have called on all allies to train soldiers faster... We must ask ourselves whether this is an escalation factor. The answer is no,” he said.