PARIS — Ukraine received the first Mirage 2000 fighter jets promised by France on Thursday, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu said, giving the country its second type of Western aircraft in addition to F-16 jets handed over by allies last year.

"With Ukrainian pilots trained for several months in France on board, they will now participate in defending Ukraine's sky," French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.

The first French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets promised to Ukraine have been delivered, the French Ministry of Armed Forces confirmed.

A Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed in an agriculture field in Madhya Pradeshs Shivpuri district on Thursday after developing a snag, a defence spokesperson said. Both pilots ejected safely and were being airlifted to Gwalior by a helicopter,

Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones as part of its effort to grow its domestic arms industry and become less dependent on Western help to fight its almost three-year w

With Ukrainian pilots on board who have been trained for several months in France, they will now participate in defending the skies of Ukraine,” he wrote without specifying the exact number of aircraft.