Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country deployed F-16s to help repel a massive Russian missile barrage. It is the first time Kiev has confirmed using advanced American-made fighter jets.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Zelensky stated, “We destroyed already some missiles and drones using the F-16.” He explained the warplanes were used during a massive Russian missile and drone attack that occurred the day before.
Kiev claims Moscow launched 127 missiles and 109 drones at Ukraine, but says only 25 missiles and 10 UAVs got past the country’s air defenses.
Last year, the White House greenlit a NATO plan to transfer scores of F-16s owned by Denmark, the Netherlands, and other European nations to Ukraine. The US has also trained some of the Ukrainian pilots.
A modest number of F-16s and pilots finally arrived in Ukraine earlier this month, though their operations are limited due to the small number of pilots trained to fly the jet, as well as the threat to the aircraft presented by Russian air defenses. As of now, Kiev only plans to use the F-16s to shoot down Russian missiles and drones far from the front lines.
The F-16s are not expected to be a “game changer” for Ukraine. Kiev is expected to receive just 24 of the jets in 2024, well short of the 128 Zelensky says Ukraine needs.
While the American-made aircraft will not turn the tide of the conflict as Russian forces steadily make gains in Ukraine’s Donbas, Moscow views the weapon transfer as highly provocative. F-16s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov has warned that the Kremlin “will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.”
The decision to transfer F-16s to Ukraine was a major policy shift for the White House. Zelensky has repeatedly requested advanced warplanes since Russia invaded in 2022. However, at the start of the war, President Joe Biden viewed transferring F-16s to Kiev as too large of a provocation towards Moscow.
