Ukraine will start operating F-16s after Orthodox Easter on May 5 Kyiv has said, as the country contends with devastating Russian bombardment and the long wait for the Western-made fighter jets.
“We are waiting,” Ukrainian air force spokesperson Ilya Yevlash said, adding the jets will be taking to the skies over the war-torn country “after Easter,” according to remarks reported by Ukrainian media on Wednesday.
A number of Ukraine’s Western backers have pledged to supply Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Kyiv has long requested the advanced jets to upgrade and replenish its air force, battered by more than two years of war against Russia’s superior and more numerous aircraft.
An F-16C Fighting Falcon flies by during a U.S. Air Force firepower demonstration at the Nevada Test and Training Range on September 14, 2007, near Indian Springs, Nevada. Ukraine will start operating F-16s “after Easter,”… An F-16C Fighting Falcon flies by during a U.S. Air Force firepower demonstration at the Nevada Test and Training Range on September 14, 2007, near Indian Springs, Nevada. Ukraine will start operating F-16s “after Easter,” Ukraine’s air force has said.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
But uncertainty about just when Kyiv will get hold of the fighter jets and have the aircraft operational against Russian forces has persisted, the timelines plagued by vagueness and delays.
Before the jets take off in Ukraine, Western countries say, Ukrainian personnel must complete their training programs, and the necessary infrastructure and facilities must be up and running in the country.
The first jets were slated to arrive in the first part of 2024, but the Dutch government announced in January that Ukraine would receive an initial batch of F-16s in the “second quarter” of the year.
Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said late last month that Belgium would “do everything possible” to deliver F-16s to Ukraine by the end of 2024. The jets were scheduled to arrive in the country in 2025.
This is a breaking story and will be updated shortly.
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