Illustrative image. (X)
The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) acknowledged on July 22 that one of the Mirage-2000 fighter jets it received very recently from France crashed in the northwestern Ukrainian region of Volyn, marking the country’s first loss of this type of warplanes.
“On the evening of July 22, 2025, a Mirage-2000 fighter jet experienced a technical failure during a training mission,” the air force said in a statement posted to Telegram.
The pilot promptly notified air traffic control and followed emergency procedures, successfully ejecting from the aircraft, it added.
Search and rescue teams located the pilot in stable condition, and no casualties or damage were reported on the ground, according to the air force, which noted that a special commission was established to investigate the cause of the incident.
Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)
In June of last year, France’s President Emmanuel Macron announced a plant to supply Ukraine with Mirage-2000 fighter jets.
It was later reported that the UAF would receive the Mirage 2000-5F, a version with an upgraded RDY radar system and MICA beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles that is used for air-to-air duties only. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said, however, that the jets will be upgraded with air-to-ground capabilities before being sent to Ukraine.
These capabilities likely include the integration of Scalp land-attack cruise missiles and AASM guided glide bombs, which France has already supplied to Ukraine.
Although France has not yet revealed how many Mirage-2000 Ukraine will get, some suggest that the number is at least 12.
Last February, Lecornu announced that the first Mirage-2000 had arrived in Ukraine with Ukrainian pilots on board.
Up until the mysterious crash in Volyn, not much had been heard about the operations of the UAF’s Mirage-2000s, which suggests that the fighter jets were not that active. The jets may have been facing technical problems as it is reported that the ones Ukraine received were built all the way back in the 1980s.
The French decision to supply the Mirage-2000 to Ukraine was a part of a wider effort by NATO to keep the UAF operational. Dozens of other warplanes, including American-made F-16s, were also supplied to Ukraine. The UAF has already lost four of the F-16s, which like the French fighter jets failed to make any difference.
All in all, the aim of this support is not really to give Ukraine the upper hand, but just to prolong the conflict with Russia.
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