Macron: Mirage Fighters To Ukraine
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in France on board his Airbus 319 presidential plane. But, he takes back a promise from French President Emmanuel Macron of Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft, for his country’s war against Russia’s invasion. Zelenskyy is in France as part of D-Day anniversary celebrations. Firstly, Macron said his government will provide Mirage warplanes to Ukraine. Speaking to TF1 France Televisions, he said, “We are going to launch a new cooperation and announce the delivery of Mirage 2000-5s. They will allow Ukraine to protect its soil, its airspace. Starting tomorrow, we are going to launch a programme to train pilots. And transfer these planes by the end of the year.”
Macron did not specify how many Mirages France will provide, by when or under what financial terms. France also proposed to train Ukrainian pilots in France from this summer, he said. The Mirage deal has been in the works for many months. Earlier, Zelenskyy said in September 2023 he had struck an agreement on training Ukraine pilots in France in conversation with Macron.
The Mirage 2000-5 is an upgraded multi-role, single-engine jet fighter, which is optimised for air-to-air combat. The Ukrainian Air Force went to war in February 2022 with around 125 warplanes. They included Sukhoi-24 and 25 attack planes and Sukhoi 27 and MiG-29 fighters. But, the Ukrainians lost about 80 jets in the war. They have replaced most of them with donated airframes, restored to airworthiness, from former Soviet states.
Further reinforcements are on the way. Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands and Norway have pledged a combined 85 Lockheed Martin F-16. The first should arrive around the same time the first group of Ukrainian pilots complete their training in the United States, Denmark and Romania.
Macron also said France had proposed to train 4,500 Ukraine soldiers. He did not say where the soldiers would be trained. The President clarified there are no French military trainers on Ukrainian soil at the moment. But, in fact, he was the first to make the controversial proposal for western boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against supplying Ukraine with weapons. The Kremlin spokesperson reiterated the threat. “The president has said what he wanted to say. This very clearly suggests that the supply of weapons that will be fired at us cannot remain without consequences. And these consequences surely will follow.”
