Ukraine said it had received more US-built F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and its first batch of Mirage 2000 fighters from France, as Moscow’s military claimed to have thwarted a new attack by Kyiv’s forces in the Russian border region of Kursk.
“The air force ... has received long-awaited reinforcements – the first French Mirage 2000 fighter jets and F-16s from the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said on Thursday.
“These modern combat aircraft have already arrived in Ukraine and will soon begin carrying out combat missions, strengthening our defence and enhancing our ability to effectively counter Russian aggression.”
French president Emmanuel Macron pledged an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5 jets to Kyiv last year, and Ukrainian pilots and ground crew have been trained in eastern France. Documents published by the French parliament suggest that six of France’s 26 Mirage 2000-5 planes will be transferred under the deal.
“The first of these arrived in Ukraine today. With Ukrainian pilots trained for several months in France on board, they will now participate in defending Ukraine’s skies,” said French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu.
Six months after Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border attack on Russia and seized more than 1,000sq km of its Kursk region, Moscow said its forces had halted a new offensive by Kyiv’s forces in the area.
“From the morning of February 6th, Ukrainian armed formations attempted a counteroffensive towards the settlements of Cherkasskaya Konopelka and Ulanok in Kursk region,” the Russian defence ministry said.
“The ‘North’ group of [Russian] forces promptly identified the enemy and units of this group, with air support, inflicted damage on the Ukrainian ... assault groups. As of 14:00, attacks by the Ukrainian armed formations had been repelled and the settlements were under the control of Russian troops.”
Kyiv did not comment on Russia’s claims or announce any new offensive in Kursk region, where its forces are still estimated to hold about 500sq km of land.
Ukraine claims the Kursk operation prevented Russia launching a new attack on its Kharkiv and Sumy regions and tied up units that could have been used to strengthen Russia’s invasion force in the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s troops have been grinding forward for more than a year.
Kyiv says its forces’ presence in Kursk is a humiliation for the Kremlin, as was Russia’s deal to bring thousands of North Korean troops to the region to bolster its defences. Ukraine claims they have now been withdrawn from the frontline after suffering heavy casualties.
Unnamed Ukrainian sources told Reuters that North Korean ballistic missiles fired by Russia were becoming much more accurate, potentially adding to western and South Korean concerns over how Pyongyang might benefit from its military partnership with Moscow.
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