Ukraine lost its first French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet during a mission on Tuesday, with the pilot ejecting safely, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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,” Zelenskyy 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 crash occurred 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 facing a shortage of air defenses to counter Russian attacks.
Ukrainian pilots and mechanics have been trained in eastern France to operate the jets, which have been modified to counter Russian jamming.
