Ukraine signs a letter of intent to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets from France. A Polish railway track that transports aid to Ukraine was blasted in an “act of sabotage,” Polish Prime Minister says. Ukraine renews supervisory, executive boards of state-run energy companies.
Ukraine signs letter of intent to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets from France
Ukraine signed a letter of intent with France to obtain 100 Rafale fighter jets over the next 10 years, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told reporters after signing the document with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Villacoublay Air Force Base near Paris on Monday.
Ukraine will purchase 100 Rafale F4 aircraft as well as the new generation SAMP/T air defense systems under development, radar systems, air-to-air missiles and air bombs from France, the Office of the Ukrainian President said. The document described by Zelenskyi as a “historic agreement” creates a framework for the transfer of technology and joint production of the warplanes “with localization” in Ukraine.
Speaking in October at a virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing group of countries, Macron said France will deliver more Aster air defense missiles and Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine “in the coming days.” He did not specify the number of pieces of equipment in transfer.
Polish railway track that transports aid to Ukraine blasted in “act of sabotage,” Polish Prime Minister says
Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk has described an explosion on the railway line between Dęblin and Warsaw leading to the Ukraine border on Sunday as “an unprecedented act of sabotage.”
The damage near Mika, about 100km south-east of Warsaw, was detected on Sunday morning by a train driver who was forced to make an emergency stop.
The railway line links Warsaw with Lublin and Chełm and runs further to the border with Ukraine. There were no casualties from the incident. Police and other services quickly arrived on the site, Polish media said. The investigation is underway.
“Blowing up the rail track on the Warsaw-Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage targeting directly the security of the Polish state and its civilians. This route is also crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine. We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are,” Tusk said in a post to X. He visited the scene on Monday morning.
Tusk also said Polish authorities had already launched an investigation into the blast as well as another incident over the weekend that also appeared to involve rail sabotage.
The blast on the railway line in Poland is a typical act of sabotage orchestrated by the unit of the Russian Main Intelligence Department (GRU) known as 29155, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko said Monday.
“That’s a subversive unit of the Russian GRU responsible for sabotage operations abroad. NATO countries are among its priority targets, with a special eye on everything linked with assistance to Ukraine or bolstering of NATO’s defense capabilities,” Kovalenko said.
He added that arsons in Germany, Poland and elsewhere in Europe are among the unit’s sabotage operations made to look like natural situations.
Ukraine renews supervisory, executive boards of state-run energy companies
The Ukrainian government has approved a plan to renew the composition of supervisory boards and executive branches of state-owned energy companies, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Monday.
“The key task is to appoint new management teams by replacing supervisory boards of all state-owned companies in the energy sector,” Svyrydenko said.
The government plans to appoint new members to the supervisory board of the state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom.
The supervisory board of the oil and gas company Naftogaz will be selected competitively. The group’s executive bodies will form, the prime minister said, listing Ukrgazvydobuvannya, Ukrnafta and Gas Distribution Networks of Ukraine.
A state representative will be appointed to the supervisory board of the state-run hydropower generating company Ukrhydroenergo and the head of the company’s executive branch will be selected competitively.
In the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU), a state representative to the supervisory board will be replaced and a competition to select the head of the executive body will be finalized.
At the national energy operator Ukrenergo, the state representative in the supervisory board will be replaced.
New supervisory boards will form for the Centrenergo, Energy Company of Ukraine, Ukrainian Distribution Networks, Regional Electric Networks, Nyzhnyodnistrivska hydroelectric power plant and Kremenchuk thermal power plant.
The state-owned company Guaranteed Buyer will be transformed into a joint-stock company and will get a new supervisory board.
The government will update the companies’ charters and supervisory board regulations in line with the standards of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Svyrydenko said.
“This week’s priority task is to approve Energoatom’s new supervisory board,” she added.
Last week, Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies uncovered a criminal organization and a major corruption scheme in which contractors of the state-owned nuclear energy company had been forced to pay kickbacks. The illegal scheme was organized by Tymur Mindich, a businessman, co-owner of the Kvartal-95 television studio and President Zelenskyi’s former business partner.