Ukraine President Volodimir Jailonsky confirmed on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) that Ukraine lost a Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft supplied by France. Jailonsky said, “Unfortunately today we lost our fighter aircraft, a French aircraft, a highly effective aircraft, our one Mirage Jet.”

Jailonsky said that the pilot successfully exited the aircraft and he also said that the accident did not happen due to the Russian attack. According to the news agency Xinhua, the Ukrainian Air Force said that the aircraft crashed during a flight mission, causing no casualties on the ground.

Ukraine got Mirage in February

Ukraine received the first batch of Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft from France in February. This was the first time that there has been an accident related to the Mirage aircraft from France in Ukraine. These fighter aircraft were flying Ukrainian pilots, which were trained in France for several months.

On June 6, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron announced, “France will provide Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft to Ukraine.” The French Army will train an entire Ukrainian battalion of 4,500 soldiers, which will be deployed in the battlefield.

French President said this

He said that the supply of French fighter aircraft is not a stress -increasing factor and promised that these weapons would not be used to bomb the citizens. In addition, Macron also did not rule out the possibility of sending military trainers to Ukraine.

He said in an interview that there should be no restriction on this subject. Mirage 2000 is a French fighter aircraft. It has a single-engine and is a fourth generation jet, which is produced by Dassault Aviation. It is capable of carrying accurate-directed weapons including SCALP missiles.

France has limited number of fighter aircraft

However, Kiev has not told how many aircraft France has given or how many aircrafts are planned. According to the French daily Le Monde, the French Air Force has only limited number of fighter aircraft. A report states that these fighter aircraft are barely sufficient for France to fulfill all their daily responsibilities.

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Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus: French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to meet Mohammad Yunus, the head of the interim government of Bangladesh. The meeting was to be held on 9 June 2025 in the city of France during the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference. Bangladesh had requested the French government for a bilateral meeting between Macron and Younus, but France clearly rejected it. After this Yunus’s visit to France has been canceled.

This incident gives a deep blow to Bangladesh’s foreign policy and Mohammad Yunus’s strategy to make a global identity. France has clarified that it does not want to hold any new bilateral meeting during this conference. Macron has already decided bilateral meetings with leaders of many countries. The French side is only avoiding participating in the meetings giving political messages. Please tell that France is the best friend of India.

Impact on Bangladesh’s strategy
It is believed that the main objective of Yunus’s visit was to gain support for the interim government of Bangladesh on international forums. Yunus wanted a meeting with a big leader like Macron to indicate global validity. Positive publicity can be done on the international stage regarding the current situation of Bangladesh. Now that this meeting has been canceled, Bangladesh may have to send a representative of a ministerial level for representation in France.

Any effect of aircraft deal?
Another interesting aspect is that Bangladesh had earlier shown interest in buying civil aircraft from France, but there was no significant progress in that direction. However, it has been clarified by France that the refusal of Macron has nothing to do with the aircraft deal. France’s priority is clear that participation in the conference is to maintain an issue and keep bilateral discussions separate.