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What Macron's Mirage pledge meant for Ukraine
Summary
A look back at the French announcement of fighter jets and pilot training, and the Russian warning that preceded it.
What did France commit to on 6 June 2024? President of France Emmanuel Macron announced that the country would send Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots, with the aim of completing both by the end of 2024.
The announcement came two days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on 4 June 2024, warned that French military instructors would be "legitimate targets" if they were deployed to Ukraine. The two statements, made within 48 hours, placed French military assistance at the centre of an exchange between Paris and Moscow.
The pledge combined two elements: equipment and instruction. Pairing aircraft with pilot training set a timetable, the end of 2024, against which delivery could be measured. Lavrov's warning was directed at instructors in Ukraine, which made the question of where training would take place a matter of direct concern to Russia.
The items listed in the reports from those days stop there: an aircraft type, a training commitment, a deadline and a Russian threat. Details such as numbers of jets were not given.
