Ukraine will receive American F-16 fighters, but their delivery will take several months, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with CNN.
The Secretary of State said that “even if the decision on the F-16 were made tomorrow, it would be several months before they begin to apply.” According to him, we are talking about training, maintenance, the availability of opportunities for the use of fighters in combined arms operations, and all this takes time.
Blinken at the same time confirmed that Kyiv would receive fighters.
“I think yes. It is important to focus on ensuring that when they receive them, they are properly trained, able to service these aircraft and use them wisely, ” he said (quoted by TASS).
At the summit of the leaders of the G7 countries (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan), which took place on May 19-21 in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, an agreement was announced to supply fourth-generation American-made F-16 fighter jets to Kiev.
Denmark and the Netherlands will lead the European coalition to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said at the end of May. It is these countries, according to Politico, that can transfer fighter jets to Kyiv. Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said that deliveries of F-16s could begin before the end of 2023. At the same time, in mid-July, the director of operations of the Pentagon’s joint headquarters, Douglas Sims, said that the delivery of US-made F-16 fighters to Ukraine is now untimely . He associated this assessment, among other things, with the extensive capabilities in the field of air defense that the Russian Armed Forces possess.
The Russian authorities have stated that the transfer of fighters to Kyiv will not change the situation on the line of contact, but Russia will give a military-technical response if F-16s appear in the sky of Ukraine. On July 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow would perceive the transfer of fighter jets as a nuclear threat because the aircraft could be equipped to use nuclear weapons.
Source : vedomosti