Ukraine: "Difficult to Receive F-16 Fighter Jets Within This Year"

Ukraine has announced that it will not be able to receive the F-16 fighter jets it requested from the West this year, which are needed to counterattack Russia.

According to major foreign media on the 17th (local time), Yuri Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, appeared on a local broadcast that day and said, "It has become clear that Ukraine will not be able to defend itself with F-16s this fall or winter."

He explained, "We had hoped that the F-16s would be included in the air defense network to protect us from Russian missile and drone attacks," adding, "One progress is that Ukrainian pilots and technicians will soon be able to start training on the F-16."

Previously, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian authorities repeatedly requested the West for the modern fighter jets, the F-16s, as an absolute necessity. However, Western countries have not made explicit commitments to provide F-16s, fearing escalation between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

However, there is an assessment that U.S. President Joe Biden opened the possibility of providing F-16s by approving training for Ukrainian pilots at the G7 summit in May. Accordingly, 11 countries including the Netherlands and Denmark plan to offer F-16 training programs for Ukrainian pilots.

Ukraine hopes to start training as early as this month. However, since the training is expected to take more than six months, even if Ukraine receives the F-16s, it is anticipated that actual operation will only be possible next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.