The Ukrainian Armed Forces have admitted they know they will not receive F-16 fighter jets this year, as none of the Western allies have committed to sending those fighter jets to Ukraine.
“It is obvious that we will not be able to defend Ukraine this fall and winter with F-16 fighter jets,” Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told Ukrainian television.
Kiev “highly hopes” that these fighter jets will serve in the future to protect Ukrainians “against the terror of Russian missiles and drones,” according to the spokesman.
Yuri Ignat believes, however, that progress has been made regarding the training of Ukrainian pilots, which could start “in the near future.”
The Netherlands and Denmark lead a coalition of eleven countries that have agreed to train Ukrainian pilots, but how, when and where this training will take place has not been detailed.
The United States, which gave its allies the green light to export fighter jets to Ukraine, offered to participate only in the training phase.
Germany remains against supporting Ukrainian military aviation, specifically through the supply of F-16 fighters.
However, the Germans have significantly increased their arms supply to kyiv in recent months, in particular, after much hesitation, by supplying Leopard tanks.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: TSF
