Ukrainian Air Drive spokesman had earlier claimed that promised fighter jets might be provided as early as this month
Ukraine could obtain the F-16 fighter jets promised to it by its Western backers “inside weeks,” the British newspaper Night Normal claimed on Friday, citing what it known as a “high-ranking navy supply.” The plane had been because of be provided to Kiev both by June or July, the supply mentioned.
The paper didn’t report on which nation would supposedly ship the jets or what their whole quantity is to be. In March, Dutch Protection Minister Kajsa Ollongren mentioned that Demark could be the primary nation to ship the F-16s and would do it in some unspecified time in the future this summer season. The Netherlands was to comply with quickly after and supply Ukraine with their batch of fighter jets “within the second half of the yr,” the minister mentioned at the moment.
Earlier in Might, Ukrainian Air Drive spokesman Ilya Evlash said that Kiev may get the jets as early as after Might 5. He additionally admitted that the supply date had already been “modified a number of instances.” Kiev has been searching for to amass the US-made jets for fairly a while amid its ongoing battle with Moscow, which entered its third yr this February.
In 2023, Western international locations introduced a world coalition to assist Ukraine procure US-designed F-16s and prepare its pilots. Greater than 40 plane had been pledged to Kiev in whole by a number of Western nations, together with Denmark, which vowed to offer 19 jets of this sort, and by the Netherlands, which mentioned it could ship 24.
The Ukrainian officers admitted that the nation could face infrastructure difficulties in sustaining the US-designed jets. Among the nation’s senior navy officers additionally instructed Politico in April that the plane may even be not related, since Russia had already taken measures to counter them.
NATO Secretary-Normal Jens Stoltenberg mentioned final November that, though the F-16s would absolutely add to Ukraine’s capabilities, they might be removed from “a silver bullet” that would basically change the state of affairs on the entrance traces.
Russia has repeatedly said that continued Western arms shipments to Kiev solely extend the battle with out altering its future end result.
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