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Following more than a year of lobbying among its Western allies, Ukraine has finally acquired its first batch of F-16 fighter jets.
Knewz.com has learned that said aircraft made their first appearance during Ukraine’s Air Force Day—a celebration during which President Volodymyr Zelensky declared: “F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it.”
A pair of the American-built combat jets were seen streaking across the sky in Odesa as they headed toward Lviv in the west of Ukraine.
“I thank all the partners who are really helping with the F-16 and the first countries that accepted our request for aircraft - Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States - and all our partners,” Zelensky told the press at the ceremony.
“We appreciate your support.”
Zelensky, who was at the forefront of the campaign to convince the country’s allies, recalled the effort:
“Since the beginning of this war, we have been talking with our partners about the need to protect our Ukrainian skies from Russian missiles and Russian aircraft.”
President Joe Biden eventually gave the go-ahead to NATO members in August 2023, but close to a year would elapse before Ukraine received its first batch of fighter jets.
Zelensky hinted at a prevailing despondency around the decision:
“This decision is probably a difficult one for our partners, as they are always afraid of unnecessary escalation.”
“We will work on this ... I think we have a good option for a NATO-Ukraine council ... so that NATO countries could talk to Ukraine about the possibility of a small coalition of neighboring countries that would shoot down enemy missiles,” he continued.
Russia, following the transfer closely, has played down the potential effect the jets may have on the war.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, weighed in on the matter and was quoted by state-affiliated news outlet, TASS, saying:
“There is no 'magic pill' here. There is no panacea. The armed forces of the Kyiv regime will not get a universal remedy.”
“They should be aware of that. Should these airplanes appear, their number will gradually decrease. They will be shot down and destroyed. These supplies will be unable to have any significant impact on the developments on the frontline.”
Western experts, however, insist that the jets will give Ukraine a leg up in the war.
A National Institute for Strategic Studies fellow, Mykola Bielieskov, noted:
“The F-16 models that Ukraine has now begun to receive are a clear step up from the Soviet-era jets inherited from the USSR, boasting superior radar capabilities and longer range. At the same time, Ukraine’s F-16s should not be viewed as a game-changing weapon in the war with Russia.”
“The jets will considerably enhance Ukraine’s ability to prevent Russian pilots entering Ukrainian air space, and can also target Russian cruise missiles in flight,” Bielieskov said.