Ukraine’s president has praised the role of French-built fighter jets, which were used for the first time to repel Russian aerial attacks last night.
The first batch of Mirage 2000 aircraft supplied by the government in Paris arrived in Ukraine in February to be flown by Ukrainian pilots who were trained in France.
They were called into action in the early hours of Friday, as around 70 Russian missiles and as many as 200 drones targeted key infrastructure all across Ukraine in overnight strikes that officials branded “energy terror.”
President Zelenskyy singled out the French jets in a social media post lauding the efforts of his country’s anti-aircraft missile team and other units involved in fighting back against attacks from the air.
“Today, F-16 fighter jets and Mirage aircraft provided by France were used to protect Ukrainian skies. In particular, the Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles. Thank you!” he wrote on X.
Ukraine’s Air Force wrote on Telegram that its forces had managed to down 134 targets: 25 Kh-101/Kh-55SM cruise missiles, eight Kalibr missiles, 100 drones and one guided aircraft missile.
The Mirage 2000 is a multifunctional, single-engine jet fighter produced by the major French aerospace company Dassault.
The number of aircraft handed over by Paris to Kyiv last month has not been revealed, but a French parliamentary report at the end of 2024 said that, in total, six of the 26 Mirage 2000s in the French Air Force would be given to Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian forces were also given F-16 jets by the Netherlands in February, with the Dutch government having promised to deliver 24 of the American-made planes to Ukraine.
Speaking when they were delivered just over a month ago, Ukraine’s defense minister, Rustem Umerov, said that the “modern combat aircraft” would help in “strengthening our defense and enhancing our ability to effectively counter Russian aggression.”
France has recently taken a leading role in supporting Ukraine, including stepping in to provide Kyiv with intelligence after the new U.S. administration opted to stop sharing military information.
It has also started working, along with the U.K. and Ukraine, on a peace plan that will be presented to the U.S. in due course.
