Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday that Kiev had received the first advanced Western American-made F-16 fighter jets, which had been awaited for more than two years.
Zelensky, at a ceremony organized in a secret place in which he showed the planes to journalists, said, “Now the matter has become a reality, a reality in our skies. F-16 fighters in Ukraine. We made this happen. “
For about two years, Ukraine has been demanding that its Western partners provide F-16 aircraft, the most important item in the long list of military equipment it has requested from its sponsors.
This fighter plane is characterized by precision and speed.
But the Ukrainian president said today that “the number of F-16 fighters we have in Ukraine is not enough” and that his country is waiting for “additional” deliveries.
“I am proud of our men who have mastered these aircraft and have begun to use them for our country,” Zelensky said.
Kiev hopes that these aircraft will allow its air fleet to better defend itself.
Several NATO countries have pledged to provide numbers of these fighter jets to Ukraine and have been training Ukrainian pilots and crews for months.
Zelensky learned that the planes, which Kiev wanted to receive, had arrived when he met military pilots at an air base next to two such planes while two others were flying in the sky.
Zelensky made improving Ukraine’s air defenses one of his priorities during his meetings with allies.
In a press interview last May, the president of Ukraine said that his country needed about 130 F-16 aircraft.
However, so far, partners in Ukraine have promised to send less than 100 aircraft of this type over several years, after extensive training for the pilots who will use them.
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2024-08-04 14:30:42
