Ukrainian pilots will soon begin training on French Rafale fighter jets in France, according to an announcement from President Volodymyr Zelenski. He described the step as an important advance for Ukraine's combat aviation. The Kyiv Independent carried the report. Zelenski made the news known after a round of phone calls he held on October 5. France now joins the group of countries preparing Ukrainian crews to fly Western-built aircraft. The Rafale is a multirole fighter produced by the French manufacturer Dassault. Turning out trained pilots and support crews takes months of instruction, so operational squadrons are not something that appears overnight. Kyiv has been asking its partners for combat aircraft since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.