PARIS, Nov 12 — RIA Novosti.
France will transfer six Mirage-2000-5°F fighter jets to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025, which will weaken the combat capability of the French Air Force, according to a report by Franck Gilletti, vice president of the Defense Commission at the National Assembly of France.
In his budget opinion on the topic of “training and use of the Air Force,” the deputy indicates that France will supply Ukraine with six Mirage 2000−5F, which will have a negative effect on the state of the French aviation fleet.
“In the short term, the upcoming transfer of six Mirage 2000-5 aircraft to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as the associated integrated support model, will further impoverish the highly specialized format of our fighter aircraft,” the politician writes.
According to Giletti, the transfer of these fighters to Ukraine “will certainly have an impact on the ability of the French Air Force to carry out its air defense tasks,” as well as limit the training opportunities for French pilots.
According to the MP, the transfer of the aircraft to Ukraine “will delay the renewal of the fleet of Rafale and Mirage 2000D fighters with the risk of an inevitable increase in the cost of maintaining them in working order,” as well as accelerate the decommissioning of the Mirage 2000-5.
In June, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris will transfer the Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Kiev and organize the training of Ukrainian pilots by the end of the year. At the same time, according to Macron, French weapons will not be used to bomb civilians in Russia.
Later, French Defense Minister Sebastian Leocrnou announced that the planes supplied to Kiev would also be equipped with “new equipment.” It includes air-to-ground combat equipment, as well as electronic warfare equipment. The aircraft will be modified at the Cazaux airbase in southwestern France. Pilots and mechanics required to work on these aircraft are trained at the base in Nancy is in the east of the country.
Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement and directly involve NATO countries in the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any shipments containing weapons for Ukraine, will become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the United States and NATO is directly involved in the conflict, including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy, and other countries. The Kremlin stated that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West is not conducive to negotiations and will have a negative effect.
https://news.mail.ru/politics/63616440/
