French President Emmanuel Macron has promised Ukraine Mirage fighter jets, though he did not initially say how many.

In a television interview in the northern city of Caen on Thursday evening, Macron said a coalition with partners was in the process of being formed to provide Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to the country defending itself from Russia.

The fighter jets should enable Ukraine to protect its soil and airspace, Macron told broadcasters TF1 and France 2.

The French president also announced plans for Ukrainian pilots to be trained by France from the summer. A brigade of 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers would also be trained.

When asked whether France would send military trainers to Ukraine, Macron answered evasively. Ukraine is asking for training in their country and this would not constitute an escalation of the war, he said.

“We are in the process of working with all our partners and will decide on the basis of a collective decision at this moment as a coalition,” Macron said. At the same time, the French president made it clear that training would not take place in the combat zone.

Macron had announced last week that he would comment on the issue of a possible deployment of French military trainers to Ukraine during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to France, saying he would make a “very precise statement at that time.”

Macron plans to welcome Zelensky to his official residence, the Élysée Palace in Paris, on Friday afternoon.

Production of the Mirage jets began in the early 1980s, followed by various versions of the aircraft. The Mirage 2000-5, the aircraft now to be delivered to Ukraine, was considered one of the best multi-role combat aircraft of the 1990s.

In future, Mirage jets are to be gradually replaced by the newer Rafale jets.