Will Ukraine, which received the first F-16 fighter jets, gain the upper hand?
The first batch of F-16 fighter jets, which has been waiting for more than a year, has arrived in Ukraine. These aircraft are the first 6 of the 24 F-16 fighters promised by the Netherlands. Fighters from Denmark are expected to arrive soon. Analysts and officials say the F-16 alone will not be a turning point in the war.
The first F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine in small numbers, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
It took more than a year for the fighters to be delivered to Ukraine. The United States agreed to provide them in May 2023 after repeated requests from the Ukrainian side and NATO allies.
Denmark has promised to deliver 19 planes, the Netherlands 24 , and Norway 6 .
Sources of the Time newspaper clarified that so far the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have received six of the promised aircraft from the Netherlands, and the rest of the batch will arrive from Denmark in the near future.
Ukrainian Armed Forces pilots and ground personnel have been receiving training from Ukraine's western partners, including the United States, Romania and the Netherlands, for several months. However, it is not clear whether Ukrainian pilots will be able to start operating these planes immediately or whether it will take time.
Ukraine's military has been forced to rely on a relatively small fleet of Soviet-era aircraft since the conflict with Russia began in February 2022, Reuters reports. Ukrainian officials see the addition of the F-16 as an important upgrade for the air force.
Meanwhile, analysts and officials say the F-16 alone will not be a turning point in the war, the agency writes, because six fighters cannot replace a full-fledged jet. In addition, fighters need strong additional support on the ground, in particular, air defense systems - they are not yet available in Ukraine .
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The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, said that the A-50 and Il-22 military transport aircraft, which served as Russia's radar and air command post, were successfully destroyed over the Sea of Azov.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that if Ukraine flies F-16 aircraft from the airfields of third countries, these airports will become a legitimate target of Russia. Putin also spoke about the possibility of Russia attacking other countries, reacting to the call "Russia is only for Russians".
