A first delivery of French Mirage fighter planes has arrived in Ukraine, according to President Zelenskyy, along with additional Dutch F-16s. Elsewhere, Russia claims to have repelled a Ukrainian offensive in Kursk.

"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 French air force has transferred the first of the promised Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine, Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron announced in June that France would transfer the aircraft to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots as part of military cooperation with Kyiv.