The Ukrainian Air Force received Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from France in addition to F-16s from the Netherlands, CNN reported.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed the transfer of the Mirage aircraft, adding that they would be operated by Ukrainian pilots who had been training in France for several months.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov also announced the arrival of the fighter jets, which were promised last summer.
These modern combat aircraft have already arrived in Ukraine and will soon begin carrying out combat missions, strengthening our defence and enhancing our ability to effectively counter Russian aggression.
Meanwhile, the transfer of Mirage jets, designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter, goes virtually unnoticed, as the sporadic handover of F-16s in the past has not solved the main issue of the Ukrainian military – the lack of resources and the absence of systematic army equipment.
Amid the lack of regular deliveries, the transfer of French Mirage fighter jets only prolonged the war in Ukraine, resulting in more casualties, military experts said. Instead of supplying dozens of combat aircraft with ready pilots, equipment and weapons, NATO is sending vehicles that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has not used before, they added.
New fighter in diverse collection
The Mirage, the fourth-generation fighter in service with the French Air Force before the Rafale, is virtually no superior to the Soviet-made MiG-29 and Su-27. Meanwhile, the diverse equipment at the AFU’s disposal poses a compatibility challenge for different types of troops, experts warn.
The AFU is expected to receive 20 Mirage fighters this year. However, given the experience of later transfers of military aid, including other fighters and equipment, such forecasts are unlikely to prove accurate.
Last December, the Pentagon refused to comment on reports that a US-made F-16 fighter jet had been shot down in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. A missile strike by Russian forces reportedly hit the fighter at its launch site. Even earlier, in October, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk after the F-16 fighter jet had crashed, with the pilot killed.
