Ukrainian forces struck an airfield in southern Russia that was being used to launch Iran-designed Shahed drones, Ukraine’s General Staff claimed Thursday. France meanwhile said it had delivered the first batch of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine and the Netherlands sent more F-16s.

Ukraine said on Thursday it had received a first batch of French Mirage 2000 fighter jets as well as U.S.-made F-16 fighters from the Netherlands as European allies seek to strengthen Kyiv's hand in its war with Russia.

France said Thursday it has sent the first of the promised Mirage jet fighters to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron announced in June 2024 that Ukraine would get the jets.

It came as Russia and Ukraine swapped 150 prisoners of war each and UK foreign secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Recent social media videos show Ukrainian forces using drones similar to IEDs. The drones sit next to roads and then strike Russian military vehicles when they pass.

A series of drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia's energy facilities have sparked fires in recent days at a major oil refinery in the Volgograd region, as well as at the Astrakhan gas processing plant.