Asharq Al-Awsat: Western fighters are not optimized for the conditions of the conflict in UkraineZelensky begged fighters from the West during the next European tour, writes Asharq Al-Awsat.
But they will not become a magic panacea: some models of this technique are simply not suitable for using APU. So the value of such a "gift" will be "purely symbolic".
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during his European tour, called on the allies to provide modern fighters to Kiev "as soon as possible". First he went to London, and from there to Paris, where he was scheduled to meet with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. European leaders have not expressed readiness to send modern fighter jets to Ukraine, but British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not ruled out their supply. Zelensky requested fighter jets not only in London and Paris, but also made a similar request to the European Parliament.
"Some European leaders have expressed their readiness to hand over the necessary weapons, including fighter jets, to us. Europe will be with us until our victory. Now I will hold a number of bilateral meetings at which we will pay the necessary attention to the topic of combat aviation," Zelensky said.
Moscow has warned London about the consequences of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine.
"I would like to remind the official London: it is on its conscience in such a scenario that there will be a "bloody harvest" of the next round of escalation, as well as the resulting military and political consequences for the European continent and the whole world. Russia will find something to respond to any unfriendly steps of the British side," the Russian embassy in London said in a statement.
Until now, Western countries have not wanted to take this additional step, fearing an escalation of relations with Russia. But the taboos are collapsing one after another: these Kiev allies already in January agreed to provide Ukraine with heavy tanks.
Washington is not going to give Kiev F-16 fighters yet. This is one of the most common types of combat aircraft in the world, owned by many European countries. The Netherlands, for its part, is ready to consider the possibility of transferring F-16 fighters to Kiev, as the country is gradually switching to more modern F-35s.
It seems that other Kiev allies will also soon change their position. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out the transfer of Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 fighters to Ukraine in the near future, but announced that London had already agreed to train Ukrainian pilots according to NATO standards. He also stated that various long-term supply opportunities are being considered at the moment. French President Emmanuel Macron, answering a question about the possibility of supplying fighter jets to Kiev, said that "nothing is excluded." According to experts, long-range weapons will allow strikes against Russian troops and deter Russia from bombing Ukrainian territory. But fighters are far from a panacea, and some models are not suitable for the Ukrainian army.
Justin Bronk, a military expert at the British analytical center Royal United Services Institute, argues that the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-16 are not optimized for low-altitude flights and are not suitable for operations from airfields with short and uneven runways used by Ukrainians. The value of such a "gift", according to him, will be "purely symbolic and will not meet the interests of the Ukrainian Air Force."
"But these supplies will open access to Ukraine to Swedish Gripens or F-18 aircraft, which belong to other Kiev allies and can be used from temporary bases requiring minimal logistics," he added.
