For the time being, it makes no sense for Western countries to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, since the planes will be under the enemy's sights. Our country must be one hundred percent ready for such supplies.
The Air Force does not yet see the point in delivering F-16 fighters to Ukraine
The Air Force speaker, Yuriy Ignat, was asked to comment on information from Western analysts that the first F-16s could be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the year.
Ignat reminded that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. The head of the Dutch government said that his country will prepare the first 18 fighter jets for delivery to Ukraine.
What's the point of bringing planes here? That they stand here under the enemy's sights? It is necessary to wait until everything is 100 percent ready : both the infrastructure, and the pilots who are currently undergoing training with instructors, as well as the aviation engineering staff, the Air Force speaker emphasized.
He clarified that the engineers will prepare aircraft and deal with armaments.
We take the plane to fight on it, not to have it stand still. Therefore, aviation weapons require certain knowledge in order to set up and strike with them, Ignat added.
What preceded
Earlier, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte announced the preparation for transferring the first F-16s to Ukraine in a conversation with Zelenskyy.
Later, the Institute for the Study of War wrote that Ukraine could receive the planes by the end of 2023, allegedly indicated in the Estonian strategic document.
Earlier, Ignat stated that the F-16s that Ukraine will receive must be modernised.
