Ukraine and France deny rumours of deliveries of 40 Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters

Foreign sources this week started writing that France may buy dozens of Dassault Mirage 2000 jets for Ukraine. Both countries have already issued denials.

Here's What We Know

A French official was the first to make a statement. He said that France was not considering the possibility of acquiring the fourth-generation multirole fighters for transfer to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The French Defence Ministry has confirmed that Ukraine is asking for fighters to defend its airspace against Russian missiles. However, France is not helping with aircraft but with anti-aircraft missile systems. In particular, air defence systems SAMP/T will soon be delivered to Ukraine.

The day before, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov also made a statement about possible receipt of Mirage 2000 fighters. The topic was raised at a joint briefing with the Croatian defence minister at the Media Centre Ukraine in Odessa.

According to Reznikov, French Mirage 2000 planes can track targets at a distance of 60 km and hit enemy targets at a range of 30 km. In this respect they are not superior to the Soviet MiG-29s, which are in service with the Ukrainian Air Force. For comparison, the radar of the Russian Su-35 can see up to 200 km, and the missiles can be launched at a distance of over 140 km.

Source: The War Zone, Ukraine Media Centre