By Anastasia Malenko
(Reuters) – Ukrainian pilots have begun flying F-16s for operations inside the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made fighter jets more than 29 months after the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian leader announced the deployment of F-16s, which Kiev has long advocated, during a meeting with military pilots at an air base where two of the jets were parked next to it and two more flew overhead.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it. I am proud of our guys who have mastered these fighter jets and have already started using them for our country,” Zelenskiy said at a location that authorities did not disclose to Reuters for security reasons.
The arrival of the fighter jets is a milestone for Ukraine after months of waiting. However, it is still unclear how many fighter jets are available and how big their impact will be on improving air defenses and on the battlefield.
Russia has targeted bases where they might be located and has vowed to shoot them down so they have no influence on the war.
The F-16s, built by Lockheed Martin, have long been on Ukraine's wish list for their destructive power and global availability. They are equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
Speaking to reporters on an airport tarmac, Zelenskiy said Ukraine still does not have enough pilots trained to fly the F-16s, nor enough fighter jets.
“The positive thing is that we expect more F-16s… a lot of guys are training now,” he said.
He said it was important that Kiev's allies find ways to expand training programs and opportunities for both Ukrainian pilots and technical teams.
'NEW AVIATION STANDARD'
Ukraine previously relied on an aging fleet of Soviet fighter jets, which were far less well-armed than the much more advanced and much larger Russian fleet.
Russia has used that lead to regularly fire long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine and to bombard Ukrainian front lines with thousands of guided bombs, supporting its troops as they slowly advance east.
“This is a new stage in the development of the air force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Zelensky said.
“We have done a lot for the Ukrainian armed forces to transition to a new aviation standard, Western combat aviation,” he added, referring to hundreds of meetings and tireless diplomacy to obtain the F-16s.
“We often got the answer 'it's impossible', but still we made our ambition, our defensive need, possible,” he said.
It remains unclear what missiles the fighter jets are equipped with. A longer range of missiles would allow them to have a greater impact on the battlefield, military analysts say.
Zelenskiy also said he hopes to use talks on the Ukraine-NATO platform to pressure neighboring countries to help intercept Russian missiles fired at Ukraine.
“This is another instrument, and I want to try it out, so that NATO countries can talk to Ukraine about the possibility of a small coalition of neighbouring countries shooting down enemy missiles,” he said.
“I think this is a difficult decision for our partners. They are always afraid of excessive escalation, but we oppose it.”
(Written by Tom Balmforth; Edited by Andrew Cawthorne)
