Ukraine has received its first French-made Mirage 2000-5F fighter, the French defense minister has said.
An unspecified number of aircraft, which are the first Western European-designed fighter aircraft to be given to Kyiv, arrived with Ukrainian pilots who were trained on the jets in France.
“On June 6, 2024, [President] Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of French Mirage 2000s to Ukraine. The first of them arrived in Ukraine today,” Sébastien Lecornu said in a post on the X platform on Thursday.
“With Ukrainian pilots on board, who have undergone several months of training in France, they will now help defend Ukraine's skies,” the minister added.
The French authorities have not disclosed the number of aircraft to reach Ukraine, but according to the French daily Le Monde, citing a parliament budget report from last year, six could be transferred to the eastern European country.
The exact location where they will be stationed in Ukraine also remains secret.
The delivery of the fighter jets comes as hopes for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia rise with Donald Trump’s re-entry into the White House, while Ukraine’s armed forces have been gradually pushed back along sections of the front.
Ukraine received its first batch of U.S.-made F-16 fighter planes at the beginning of August 2024, a year after its allies formed a coalition at a NATO summit in Vilnius to support Kyiv with training and aircraft.
“On June 6, 2024, [President] Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of French Mirage 2000s to Ukraine. The first of them arrived in Ukraine today,” Sébastien Lecornu said in a post on the X platform on Thursday.
“With Ukrainian pilots on board, who have undergone several months of training in France, they will now help defend Ukraine's skies,” the minister added.
The French authorities have not disclosed the number of aircraft to reach Ukraine, but according to the French daily Le Monde, citing a parliament budget report from last year, six could be transferred to the eastern European country.
The exact location where they will be stationed in Ukraine also remains secret.
The delivery of the fighter jets comes as hopes for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia rise with Donald Trump’s re-entry into the White House, while Ukraine’s armed forces have been gradually pushed back along sections of the front.
Ukraine received its first batch of U.S.-made F-16 fighter planes at the beginning of August 2024, a year after its allies formed a coalition at a NATO summit in Vilnius to support Kyiv with training and aircraft.
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