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Will F-16s and Mirage 2000s have a major impact on Ukraine’s counter-attack?

22nd August 2024 - 15:00 GMT | by Tony Fyler in London

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Will the Dassault Mirage 2000-5 make a difference in Ukraine any time soon? (Photo: Dassault Aviation)

The first F-16s have arrived in Ukraine, and Mirage 2000-5s may follow. But how much will they matter to the outcome of the conflict?

Practically from the moment that Russia first began its invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had one clarion call to the rest of the world. While NATO powers set about enforcing financial sanctions and trade sanctions against the invading Russian government, Zelensky had a single, more practical focus: “Send us planes”.

That was a crucial request, because a more modern air force was crucial not only to stopping or slowing the Russian advance, but also to allowing Ukraine to fight back.

In August, 2024, more two years into a protracted conflict that much of the world

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