Fighter aircraft from the West are at the top of Ukraine’s wish list. There is now speculation that the first F-16 jets have already been delivered.
Ukraine may already be using American F-16 jets and may even have attacked Russian ships and planes. There are reports from American circles that it is very likely that some fighter jets are already in Ukraine. Radio Free Europe reported before Christmas that a delivery was expected “in the next few days.” The US magazine “Forbes” also wrote about the possibility of a short-term delivery.
The Ukrainian Air Force attacked the port of Feodosia in Crimea on Tuesday night and severely damaged the landing ship “Novocherkassk”. According to Russian sources, it was attacked by cruise missiles fired from Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets. Russia claimed to have shot them down – Ukraine denied this.
Zelenskyj: “We want to win the air battle”
The Ukrainian Air Force did not name the types of aircraft used in the recent attack in Crimea. According to a report in the US magazine “Newsweek”, the long-awaited F-16 fighter jets could already be in Ukraine. This is supported by the fact that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyj on the phone two days before Christmas. He informed the Ukrainian president that the delivery of 18 jets was being prepared. An export permit is still needed, said Rutte. Earlier this month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said his country expects “soon delivery” of the fighter jets.
However, the British Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that the first group of Ukrainian pilots had completed basic training and were now taking their first flights with the US aircraft in Denmark. There have also been test flights in Romania and the USA.
Ukraine has shot down several Russian planes in recent days. During his recent visit to Washington, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the importance of air sovereignty. “We want to win the air battle,” he said at a press conference with US President Joe Biden. “Whoever controls the air controls the length of the war”.
Russian bloggers speculate about deployment
According to Newsweek’s report, Russian military bloggers speculated that F-16 jets are already being deployed. However, the Russian side repeatedly tries to derive NATO involvement from Western arms deliveries. A Russian blogger also spoke of the alleged danger that the aircraft were integrated into NATO’s command structure. The defense alliance has repeatedly emphasized that it will not intervene in the war against Ukraine.
It would not be the first time that Ukraine confirmed the delivery of new weapons only after they had been deployed. ATACMS missiles were fired at Russian airports in October and destroyed several helicopters before they were officially presented.
“I hope the West has learned not to announce new weapons systems, as was the case for much of the first 20 months of the war,” Daniel Rice, former special adviser to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Valery Zalushny, told Newsweek.
“Russian forces should learn the hard way when Ukraine uses a new weapon,” said Rice, who is now president of American University Kyiv.
