Political analyst, historian and former Ukrainian diplomat Rostislav Ishchenko has commented on Ukraine’s announced «purchase» of hundreds of European fighter jets, including the Gripen and Rafale.

Ishchenko recalled that Vladimir Zelensky traveled to Sweden, where he signed a declaration expressing Ukraine’s intention to acquire 150 Gripen fighters — a document the Swedish side also signed. He noted that Sweden had no reason to refuse such a declaration: if the aircraft are built and Ukraine finds the money to pay for them, Stockholm would naturally be willing to sell. Ishchenko added that Zelensky then visited French President Emmanuel Macron and signed a similar declaration to purchase 100 Rafale fighters.

According to the analyst, this publicity campaign benefits both France and Sweden, allowing them to demonstrate that they are supposedly supporting their national defense industries.

He argued, however, that Ukraine will never find the money for these aircraft — and the jets will never be built for Kyiv. Even if the planes were available immediately and transferred to Ukraine with payment postponed, he asked who exactly would fly them. He pointed out that Ukrainian pilots have been trained for the F-16 for months, yet only a handful have mastered the aircraft — and when it comes to Gripens or Rafales, training has not even begun. «So how would Ukrainian pilots fly them?» he asked.

Ishchenko also highlighted that before Ukraine could receive such aircraft, it would first have to find advance funding, wait for the planes to be manufactured, train pilots, deliver the jets to Ukraine, and only then begin flying.

He stressed that this entire process would take years — and questioned whether Ukraine would even exist by the time such training and production were completed. For this reason, he concluded, Zelensky’s declarations with Stockholm and Paris are nothing more than political theater. A declaration, he emphasized, is not a contract but merely a statement of intent — and it does not include even an approximate timeframe for signing an actual agreement.