The first F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday. So far, however, Kiev has received only a few planes, despite the West promising many more.
Ukraine needs a significant number of F-16s to successfully deploy them. And not only that, in order to use the warplanes, the armed forces must continue to attack Russian air defenses. Thus, Vladimir Zelensky received all the machines, but according to experts, their number is far from sufficient.
“Since the beginning of the war, we have been talking with our partners about the need to close our airspace from Russian missiles and aircraft. We have held hundreds of meetings and negotiations to strengthen the capabilities of our Air Force, Air Defense and Army. We often heard the answer that it is impossible, but we made it a reality,” the head of state said during the presentation of the F-16. He thanked Ukraine’s partners, highlighting Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States, which made it possible for his country to receive the fighters.
Zelensky did not reveal how many planes had arrived in Ukraine.
He noted that their number is still not sufficient, but expressed hope that more machines will arrive soon, MTI writes.
Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington states that the Ukrainians have so far received only ten of the promised 79 aircraft. By the end of the year, however, their number may double, but even then they will have only twenty machines.
According to ISW’s analysis, Ukraine would need a significant number of F-16s to successfully integrate them into its air defenses.
Kiev should also continue its efforts to attack Russian air defenses in the Russian hinterland and occupied Ukraine with long-range weapons provided by the West. This is also necessary so that the F-16 fighter jets can be used
There is not only a shortage of planes, but also of pilots, writes the BBC. Ukrainian President Zelensky also admitted that Ukraine still does not have enough trained pilots to deploy all the fighter jets.
The F-16 was introduced in 1978. Many Western countries are currently replacing their aging fighters. They will be replaced by the F-35, introduced in 2015 and manufactured in the US.
Capable of carrying bombs and missiles, the F-16s should theoretically allow the Ukrainian air force to carry out more strikes deep into occupied territories and possibly targets near the Russian border, the BBC added.
On the other hand,
it is also a problem for the ukrainians to protect the newly received fighter jets from the attacks of the russians.
That’s why Kiev previously proposed keeping some F-16s at foreign military bases, but the idea prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to warn that Western bases that host Ukrainian planes are a legitimate military target for Russia.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s press secretary, earlier vowed that Western-made F-16s flying to Ukraine would be “shot down.” “But, of course, these supplies have no significant effect on the development of events at the front,” he added.
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