Ukraine shows off Dassault Mirage fighter jet with national markings as France doubles donations
September 3, 2025
Ukraine has officially shown off a donated French Mirage fighter jet with national colours to mark Ukrainian Aviation Day. This comes after reports emerge that France is preparing to double the number of donated fighter jets.
Ukraine showcases French Mirage 2000-5 during Ukrainian Aviation Day
The first donated French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets arrived in Ukraine in February 2025. Now Ukrainian President Zelensky has officially unveiled the first full-length image of the Mirage fighter jet in unique Ukrainian markings.
While the jet still has its original French camouflage, the tail now sports Ukraine’s coat of arms, depicting the Ukrainian trident – the Tryzub (Ukrainian: тризуб).
Meanwhile, underneath the aircraft, the jet carried two 2,000-litre external fuel tanks painted in the yellow and blue of the national flag. The aircraft was unarmed but could be seen with missile rails for MICA-IR and MICA-EM missiles.
Ukraine does not have an in-air refuelling capability, and so the Mirage’s refuelling probe was removed.
A French-provided Mirage 2000-5 Fighter Jet operated by the Ukrainian Air Force crashed yesterday in the Volyn Oblast of Western Ukraine, following a technical malfunction after taking off from Dubno Air Base. The pilot was able to successfully eject and was found in stable… pic.twitter.com/tsFP7MDBnX
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 23, 2025
Since arriving in the country, the Mirage fighter jets have seen combat against Russian forces. Ukraine lost one of its Mirage 2000-5s in the Volyn Oblast in western Ukraine. The aircraft was far from the combat zone and reportedly experienced a technical malfunction after takeoff. The pilot successfully ejected.
More Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets pledged to Ukraine
Originally, it was announced that France would donate at least six Mirage 2000-5s to the Ukrainian Air Force, although ten are expected. Ukraine had initially asked for 12 French Mirage jets.
Last month, Dmytro Kuleba, who served as Ukraine’s foreign minister from March 2020 to September 2024, spoke with France’s Le Monde about the war in Ukraine. Kuleba told Le Monde that France is planning to announce it will donate 20 Mirages in total, double the ten previously planned.
La 🇫🇷 va annoncer qu'elle donne 20 Mirage 2000 à l'🇺🇦 au lieu des 10 initialement prévus.
— Xavier Tytelman (@PeurAvion) August 24, 2025
Trois options:
– les vieux 2000C ont été remis en état
– un accord a été trouvé avec un pays tiers qui a pris du Rafale (Grèce, EAU…)
– flotte AA française.https://t.co/G1XRcQewQN
It’s unclear where these new jets will come from. One option is that these will be old but refurbished Mirage 2000Cs. Another option is that an agreement has been reached with a third country that is operating the type (such as Greece or the UAE).
Ukraine transitioning to Western fighter jets
When the war broke out, Ukraine only had legacy fighter jets from the Soviet Union. While Russia has failed to destroy these aircraft, they have suffered massive attritional losses over 3.5 years of fighting.
Poland and Slovakia donated 24 MiG-29s, some of which were not operational and were sent for parts. At the same time, Ukrainian Soviet-era fighter jets have been jerry-rigged to carry Western munitions, like the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG.
However, this is viewed as a temporary solution, and Ukraine’s air force must transition to Western fighter jets in the long term. This is a logistically challenging undertaking during a major war. Ukraine has developed a mobile maintenance system for its F-16s, allowing them to operate from dispersed bases.
Ukrainian Air Force fighter jet Mirage-2000s, provided by 🇫🇷 France to 🇺🇦Ukraine, shoot down X-101 cruise missiles in Ukrainian skies, during a russian attack on March 7, 2025!
— Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) March 7, 2025
Thank you to our partners! pic.twitter.com/ndYbfgL8Kx
The two fighter jet types Ukraine is receiving are the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Dassault Mirage 2000-5. Ukraine is also expected to eventually receive Swedish Saab Gripen fighter jets. In 2024, the Swedish Government included Gripens in its aid package to Ukraine.
The package included funding for new components for the new Gripen E for the Swedish Air Force. Previously, the older Swedish Gripens were going to be cannibalised for parts. This allows around 14 of the older airframes to remain operational and be donated at a later point.
