Ukraine receives first F-16 fighter jets - Zelensky
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| Some 65 F-16s have also been pledged by Nato countries |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine has received the first F-16 fighter jet from the United States.
"F-16 for Ukraine. We did it," President Zelensky said at a ceremony in an undisclosed location where two planes were parked. The leader of Ukraine thanked his partners for what they had been willing to give - although he added that more was needed.
The arrival of the represents an important step forward in expanding the strength of the Ukrainian Air Force, which is based on former Soviet aircraft.
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| Ukraine hopes the F-16s will help stop attacks on the country, like this one in Kyiv in July |
More F-16s are expected in the coming months, although Zelenskyy admitted that Ukraine does not have enough pilots to fly them all.
did not mention the number of planes that arrived in Ukraine - and Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States sent them all and thanked them separately. NATO countries have received some 65 F-16s since US President Joe Biden gave the first authorization to the European Union to send them to Ukraine in August 2023. The aging forces, which replaced the American F-35, appeared in 2015.
The UK Air Force does not have an F-16, although it has provided the Hurricane Shadow long-range missile that can be mounted on the aircraft. Ukraine's F-16
will use a small number of Western-supplied air missile systems, such as Patriot and Nasams, which are already on the ground.
Capable of carrying missiles, bombs, and missiles, the F-16 should allow the Air Force to launch internal attacks inside occupied territories and possibly near Russian borders. The
can also help defend against Russian glide missiles – short-range missiles with protruding wings and guidance sections for precision strike capability – and one of the US's JDAM missiles.
About 3,000 were shot down in March alone, mostly by Su-34 bombers.
If Ukraine can keep its F-16s on the ground, the hope is that they can play an important role in pushing Russian aircraft back to the point where they can no longer bomb the military. the land of Ukraine.
Kyiv proposed keeping some F-16s at foreign military bases, but the proposal prompted President Vladimir Putin to warn that any Western base that supports Ukrainian aircraft would be a target. legal war in Russia.
experts also said that military aircraft can provide air support to the ground forces of Ukraine, who have faced endless fighting in recent months, especially in the eastern Donbas region.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov promised that Western F-16s flying into Ukraine "will be shot down."
"But of course this study does not affect the development of the future," he added.
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