Ukraine Marks First Loss Of Mirage 2000 Fighter
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Ukraine Loses 1st French Mirage-2000 Fighter Jet; Comes After Loss Of Four F-16 Fighting Falcons
Ukraine has lost its first French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet during a mission on Tuesday, with the pilot ejecting safely. France began delivering the supersonic aircraft to Ukraine earlier this year to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia. Earlier, a Ukrainian pilot was killed after his F-16 fighter was lost while repelling a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack. The incident marks another blow for the Ukrainian military, which is suffering a shortage of air defences to counter Russian attacks. The first of these aircraft have arrived in Ukraine today, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on X, without saying how many had been delivered. He had said, “Mirage 2000s could be flying in Ukraine in the first half of 2025,” without giving a specific date for the delivery of the aircraft.
France began delivering the supersonic aircraft to Ukraine earlier this year to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia.
“Unfortunately, we lost our combat aircraft. A French aircraft, very effective, one of our Mirage jets,” Zelensky said in an address early Wednesday morning.
“The pilot managed to escape and it was not shot down by the Russians,” he added.
The Ukrainian air force said the incident took place during a flight mission on Tuesday evening and that there were “no casualties on the ground”.
“The pilot reported a failure of aviation equipment to the flight director. He then acted competently, as is expected in a crisis situation, and successfully ejected,” the air force said.
The incident marks another blow for the Ukrainian military, which is suffering a shortage of air defences to counter Russian attacks.
Ukrainian pilots and mechanics have been trained in eastern France to use the jets, which have undergone modifications to combat Russian jamming.
Earlier, a Ukrainian pilot was killed after his F-16 fighter was lost while repelling a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack. It was the third such loss of an F-16 of the war, the military said. However, this could have been the fourth crash, as per EurAsian Times’ estimates.
“The pilot used all of his onboard weapons and shot down seven air targets. While shooting down the last one, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude,” the Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app.
Earlier, on May 16, Ukraine lost an F-16 Fighting Falcon (the 4th loss) as EurAsian Times reported.
Announcing the incident on Facebook, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said: “On May 16, 2025, around 03.30, communication with the F-16 aircraft was lost.” The F-16 in question was repelling a Russian aerial attack when it developed some unidentified problems.
The first crash happened just weeks after Ukraine received its first F-16 and claimed the life of the pilot. While the accident was initially attributed to a technical malfunction or pilot error, a Wall Street Journal report later floated the possibility of friendly fire from a Ukrainian Patriot missile defense system.
The second crash of an F-16 occurred in April 2025, killing the pilot again. Initially, several theories, including that of an air-to-air combat between Russia and Ukraine, as well as friendly fire, were floated. However, Russia put all speculations to rest by announcing that the F-16 was shot down by an air defense system.
The third crash was the May 16 incident, where experts suggested that the S-400 AD missile was behind the kill.
May 16 incident was the latest loss of Fighting Falcon.
France delivered the first batch of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu had said.
“The first of these aircraft have arrived in Ukraine today,” Lecornu said on X, without saying how many had been delivered. After France helped train Ukrainian pilots over recent months, “they will now help defend Ukraine’s skies,” he added.
Lecornu had said, “Mirage 2000s could be flying in Ukraine in the first half of 2025,” without giving a specific date for the delivery of the aircraft that French President Emmanuel Macron promised to the Ukrainian Air Force earlier this year.
Mirage 2000-5 is a fourth-generation jet and belongs to the same class of aircraft as the F-16, which is already in service with the Ukrainian Air Force. Kyiv has deployed the F-16s mainly for air defense and combat patrols.
With AFP Inputs
Ukraine loses first French Mirage fighter jet in crash
Ukraine lost its first French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet during a mission on Tuesday. The pilot ejected safely, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The incident marks another blow for the Ukrainian military, which is suffering a shortage of air defences to counter Russian attacks.
KYIV : Ukraine lost its first French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet during a mission on Tuesday, with the pilot ejecting safely, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
France began delivering the supersonic aircraft to Ukraine earlier this year to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia.
“Unfortunately, we lost our combat aircraft. A French aircraft, very effective, one of our Mirage jets,” Zelensky said in an address early Wednesday morning.
“The pilot managed to escape and it was not shot down by the Russians,” he added.
The Ukrainian air force said the incident took place during a flight mission on Tuesday evening and that there were “no casualties on the ground”.
“The pilot reported a failure of aviation equipment to the flight director. He then acted competently, as is expected in a crisis situation, and successfully ejected,” the air force said.
The incident marks another blow for the Ukrainian military, which is suffering a shortage of air defences to counter Russian attacks.
Ukrainian pilots and mechanics have been trained in eastern France to use the jets, which have undergone modifications to combat Russian jamming.
Ukraine Marks First Loss Of Mirage 2000 Fighter
The Ukrainian Air Force received its first Mirage back in February. France performed unspecified modifications to allow them to fly air-to-ground missions. Ukraine has also seen at least three of its donated F-16s destroyed. This is a developing story.
“On the evening of July 22, 2025, while performing a flight mission on a Mirage-2000 fighter jet, an aircraft equipment failure occurred, which the pilot reported to the flight manager,” the Ukrainian Air Force reported. “He then acted competently, as is expected in crisis situations, and successfully ejected. The search and rescue team found the pilot, his condition is stable. There were no casualties on the ground. A special commission has been appointed to establish the causes of the aviation incident.”
The Ukrainian Air Force received its first Mirage back in February.
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Before delivering the jets, France performed unspecified modifications to allow them to fly air-to-ground missions. You can read more about that here.
This is the latest loss of a donated fourth-generation fighter. Ukraine has also seen at least three of its donated F-16s destroyed.
This is a developing story. Stay with The War Zone for updates.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
French Mirage fighter jet crashes in Ukraine
The pilot safely ejected over Ukrainian territory after reporting a failure in the jet’s systems. The search and rescue team located the pilot, and his condition is stable.
It is the first reported loss of a Mirage jet since Ukraine began receiving the aircraft from France in February.
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that the pilot safely ejected over Ukrainian territory after reporting a failure in the jet’s systems.
In a statement, the Air Force described the incident as “an aviation equipment failure”.
“The pilot reported [the failure] to the flight director. He acted competently, as required in crisis situations, and successfully ejected. The search and rescue team located the pilot, and his condition is stable,” according to a statement from the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Ukraine suffered its first loss of a French fighter jet after equipment failure forced its pilot to eject
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday that one of its Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters crashed due to a malfunction. It’s a blow to Ukraine’s limited fleet of Western fourth-generation aircraft. Ukraine is believed to have received six Mirage 2000-5 fighters, meaning it likely has five left. The Mirage is also one of Ukraine’s few platforms for firing the powerful, long-range Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles that the UK and France have given Ukraine. The F-16 is not configured to launch this munition, though it’s been pledged roughly 85 of the jets in total from European nations, including the UK, France, and the U.S. The air force says it will investigate the incident under a special commission.
France has donated six Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine. DIDIER LAURAS/AFP via Getty Images
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Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday that one of its Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters crashed due to a malfunction, marking its first loss of the French-donated jet.
It’s a blow to Ukraine’s limited fleet of Western fourth-generation aircraft, which Kyiv spent years urging its allies to help build amid Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine is believed to have received six Mirage 2000-5 fighters, meaning it likely has five left. Local media reported in December that Ukraine requested 12 to 20 of the single-seat French jets in total.
Related video The Patriot missile system is proving critical in Ukraine’s defense
The Mirage downed on Tuesday was performing a flight mission, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement.
“On the evening of July 22, 2025, during the execution of a flight mission on a Mirage-2000 fighter jet, a failure of aviation equipment occurred, which the pilot reported to the flight director,” the statement read.
“He then acted competently, as required in crisis situations, and successfully ejected. The search and rescue team found the pilot, his condition is stable,” it added.
No casualties were reported. The air force said it would investigate the incident under a special commission.
France first delivered Ukraine’s Mirages in February. It said it had also added several upgrades, including an electronic warfare system, that allow the jets to approach and strike ground targets more effectively.
Still, Kyiv has largely used its Western aircraft for safer air defense missions, destroying Russian drones and missiles within its airspace.
Kyiv is also believed to have over 50 US-made F-16 Fighting Falcons, though it’s been pledged roughly 85 of the jets in total from European nations. Four of its F-16s have been reported destroyed, some in combat.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Tuesday that Russia did not shoot down the Mirage.
“Unfortunately, we lost our combat aircraft today, a French machine, a very effective one. One of our Mirage jets,” Zelenskyy said. “The pilot managed to save himself, and this was not a Russian shoot-down.”
The Mirage is also one of Ukraine’s few platforms for firing the powerful, long-range Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles that the UK and France have given Ukraine. The F-16 is not configured to launch this munition.
Upgraded versions of the French jet, which first entered operational service in the 1980s, can cost about $43 million each.
The multirole version given to Ukraine, the Mirage 2000-5, was fully introduced into the French air force in 1997. Paris is now moving toward retiring the jet, phasing out older variants since 2022 in favor of the newer Rafale fighter.
Dassault and Ukraine’s air force did not respond immediately to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.