France may transfer up to 20 Mirage-2000-5 fighters to Ukraine, – expert

Katkov noted that information in the French press that Ukrainian pilots were allegedly being trained on Mirage-2000 fighters appeared back in March 2023.

France may be preparing to transfer up to 20 Mirage-2000-5 fighters to Ukraine . This opinion was expressed by Defense Express editor-in-chief Oleg Katkov.

“The information that Ukraine will 100% receive Mirage-2000-5 fighters from France came from the country’s president. Moreover, the timeframe is six months. However, it is important to note that the information in the French press that Ukrainian pilots were allegedly training on Mirage-2000 fighters appeared back in March 2023. Then this information was refuted by the Air Force command. At the official level, in the French Senate, the possibility of transferring these aircraft to Ukraine was discussed in the winter of 2022-2023,” he said on the air of the Espresso TV channel .

Katkov recalled that an interview with the French ambassador to Ukraine was recently made public. The diplomat said that training and preparation of pilots on Mirage-2000 aircraft takes months.

“It is not yet known how long this period is, because even half a year can be considered as several months. As for the number of Mirage-2000-5 fighters that France can transfer to Ukraine, this information is kept secret. However, it can be stated that we are talking about 20 units. This is exactly the number of these aircraft that are in service with France and are still being removed from service. This is what the French Defense Minister emphasized. He noted that all equipment that is being removed from service is being transferred to Ukraine,” Katkov summarized.

Airplanes for Ukraine: Latest News

This year, Ukraine will not receive enough F-16 fighters to fight on equal terms with Russian air forces, said Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the president, there is a “serious number of aircraft” that he has agreed on with other countries, and after these agreements, “there are some processes on both sides.”

Meanwhile, in Germany, the government has rejected a call by CDU leader Friedrich Merz to supply combat aircraft to Ukraine . The state has no plans to supply such aircraft.

(C)UNIAN 2024