Ukraine loses French Mirage 2000 fighter jet in crash

KIEV, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine lost a French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed early Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, we lost our combat aircraft today, a French machine, a very effective one -- one of our Mirage jets," Zelensky said.

The pilot successfully ejected, Zelensky said, noting that the crash was not caused by a Russian attack.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the aircraft went down during a flight mission, causing no casualties on the ground.

Ukraine received its first batch of Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France in February. The crash marked the first reported incident involving a French-supplied Mirage aircraft in Ukraine.

Mirage 2000 is a multi-role, single-engine fighter capable of carrying precision-guided munitions, including SCALP missiles.