KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will provide Ukraine with its Mirage combat aircraft to help the country's defense against Russia's aggression. He spoke after Ukrainian President Volodymyr .
Zelenskyy was also in France to seek more Western help even as his forces battle to stave off a Russian onslaught near the eastern city of Kharkiv in a war that has become .
Macron told the French public broadcaster he will announce Friday a new cooperation with Ukraine and the sale of French-made combat aircraft, the Mirage 2005, which will 鈥渁llow Ukraine to protect its soil, its airspace鈥� against Russian attacks.
France will also start training Ukrainian pilots, Macron said as he reiterated that Ukraine should be allowed to use weapons provided by its Western allies to target Russian military targets and 鈥渘eutralize the points from which (the country) is being attacked.鈥�
The Netherlands and Denmark promised last year to give to Ukraine and the at a base in Arizona. Macron did not specify when the French combat aircraft would arrive.
Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, attended the 80th anniversary events in Normandy with President Joe Biden and European leaders who have supported Kyiv鈥檚 efforts in the war, now in its third year. Zelenskyy will meet with French officials in Paris on Friday.
Although the promise of French aircraft will be welcome in Kyiv, Ukraine is currently fighting to hold back a , including the border regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, that seeks to exploit Kyiv鈥檚 shortages of ammunition and troops along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Ukraine has framed the conflict as a clash between Western democratic freedom and Russian tyranny. Russia says it is defending itself against a menacing eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance.
Overnight, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery and a fuel depot in Russian border regions, officials in the targeted areas said Thursday, in Kyiv鈥檚 ongoing effort to disrupt the Kremlin鈥檚 war machine.
As part of that effort, NATO allies said they would allow Ukraine to use weapons they deliver to Kyiv .
The decision could potentially impede Moscow鈥檚 ability to open a new front in the northeastern regions. Ukrainian officials feared a fresh assault was imminent after the May 10 offensive against Kharkiv, in which Moscow鈥檚 troops exploited weaknesses and successfully diverted Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine has Washington's permission to use U.S.-supplied weapons to shoot at targets inside Russia, with limitations.
Ukrainian lawmaker Yehor Cherniev told The Associated Press that they can be used only in Russian border regions east of Ukraine where the Kremlin鈥檚 forces assemble and launch attacks, but they cannot hit airfields or aircraft that fire missiles at Ukraine, .
He said Ukraine has 鈥渟topped鈥� the momentum of the northeast offensive in the Kharkiv region.
Although Russian forces might still try to advance, 鈥渘ow we can destroy their troops on the territory of Russia near the border of Kharkiv,鈥� added Cherniev, deputy chairman of parliament's National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby noted there has never been a restriction on Ukrainian forces shooting down hostile aircraft, 鈥渆ven if those aircraft are not necessarily in Ukrainian airspace. ... They can shoot down Russian airplanes that pose an impending threat. And they have. They have since the beginning of the war."
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir to other countries so that they could . Biden countered by noting the limits that Washington imposed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking about giving (Ukraine) weapons to strike Moscow, to strike the Kremlin,鈥� Biden told ABC News.
Ukraine has received authorization to use the weapons 鈥渏ust across the border where they鈥檙e receiving significant fire from conventional weapons used by the Russians to go into Ukraine to kill Ukrainians,鈥� Biden said.
Biden said he was 鈥渃oncerned鈥� by Putin's behavior and called him 鈥渁 dictator.鈥� He also pledged that 鈥渨e will not walk away鈥� from the defense of Ukraine and allow Russia to threaten more of Europe.
Moscow officials were unconvinced by Western arguments. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia鈥檚 Security Council, said Putin's comments amounted to 鈥渁 quite significant shift in our foreign policy."
鈥淟et the U.S. and its allies feel the impact of direct use of Russian weapons by others,鈥� Medvedev wrote on his messaging app channel.
Putin deliberately didn鈥檛 identify who would receive Russian weapons, Medvedev said, adding that they could go to anyone who considers the U.S. and its allies their enemies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the use of Western weapons against Russia 鈥渃an鈥檛 be left without consequences, and those consequences will certainly follow.鈥�
Putin claimed that using some Western-supplied weapons involves military personnel of those countries controlling the missiles and selecting targets, and therefore he said that elsewhere in the world.
The U.S. military said that it doesn't control the missiles it provides to Ukraine or the targets, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized the alliance has no plans to deploy forces to Ukraine.
鈥淲e are focusing on how we can establish a stronger framework for our support, with an institutionalized framework for the support to Ukraine and how to establish an agreed long-term financial commitment to ensure that we stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes,鈥� Stoltenberg said in Finland.
An overnight drone attack hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia鈥檚 Rostov region and started a fire, Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev said. Firefighters had to pull out briefly because of a second attack, he said.
The extent of the damage to the facility wasn't immediately clear. Golubev said that there were no casualties.
In Belgorod, another border region, a drone hit an oil depot overnight, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said. It caused an explosion and a fire in one of the oil reservoirs. The blaze was quickly extinguished and there were no casualties, Gladkov said.
It wasn't immediately possible to verify the reports.
Refineries, fuel depots and oil terminals have been targets of increasingly sophisticated that have reached deep into Russia. The attacks deny Moscow revenue, and Western sanctions have added to the pressure on Russia鈥檚 energy sector.
Russia, meanwhile, has been attacking Ukraine鈥檚 energy infrastructure and causing widespread . The apparent goal is to sap public morale and affect military manufacturing plants.
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Corbet reported from Omaha Beach, France, and Surk reported from Nice, France.
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Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of the war in Ukraine at
Samya Kullab, Sylvie Corbet And Barbara Surk, The Associated Press
