Ukraine says its long -range drones hit a Russian airfield as France delivers mirage fighter jets

On By Littum

Ukrainian forces hit an airfield in southern Russia used to launch Iran-designed Shaed drones, claimed Ukraine’s general staff on Thursday when France said it had delivered a first batch of Mirage fighters to Ukraine.

The night attack on Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield in Russia’s Krasnodar region started a fire, the General Staff wrote on Facebook. The facility houses and fires drones and maintain aircraft used to attack Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia border area.

It was not possible to independently verify the requirement. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar, but it did not say where or mentioned the airport.

Ukraine has developed its own long -range drones as part of its efforts to grow its domestic arms industry and become less dependent on Western help to fight its nearly three -year war with Russia. The drones have at times reached deep into Russia affecting oil refineries, weapons shops and airfields.

Meanwhile, French authorities said they had delivered the first fighter jets promised to Ukraine by President Emmanuel Macron last year.

“The first of them arrived in Ukraine today,” said Sebastien Lecornu, the Minister of the Armed Forces, at X. “With Ukrainian pilots on board, trained for months in France, they will now help defend the sky over Ukraine. “

Lecornu did not say how many aircraft were delivered.

Ukraine has also received F-16s from European countries, although Ukrainian officials have rarely mentioned them in official comments about the matches.

Russian forces fired 77 Shahed and other types of drones as well as two ballistic ice creaman missiles on Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. A statement said that 56 drones were destroyed and that 18 others were jammed and lost in the middle of the flight.

Some buildings were damaged, but no damage was reported.

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