The Telegraph: F-16 fighter jets made the first combat sorties in Ukraine
Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Zelensky's office, declined to comment on the information about the receipt of the first batch of F-16 fighters. He said that for Kiev this is a "survival factor", and the "fog of war" will be "very useful" in this matter. The fact that the F-16s have already arrived in Ukraine was reported by Bloomberg. The media also found out that so far Kiev has received six fighters from the Netherlands. They have already made their first combat sorties.
Kiev is not going to officially confirm the arrival of F-16 fighters. This was stated by Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, on the air of the national telethon.
"Of course, we will not comment on this in any way, because for us it is a survival factor, that is, it is an aviation component, and it is not necessary to say whether we have it or not, in our time," Podolyak said.
He also noted that the fog of war would be "very useful" in the issue of F-16 supplies.
In addition, the adviser to Zelensky's office stressed that Kiev's allies have not yet made such statements either. Earlier, John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, also refused to confirm information about the arrival of the F-16 in Ukraine. He advised the journalists who asked this question to contact the Ukrainian side.
Despite the fact that Kiev and Washington declined to comment on the F-16, their arrival in Ukraine was confirmed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
"F-16 in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be quite possible," the diplomat wrote on the social network X.
How many F-16s did Ukraine receive?
The fact that Ukraine has already received the first batch of F-16s was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources. They said that the deadline for the transfer of aircraft was set for the end of July and was not violated. At the same time, according to sources, the number of transferred fighters is small. Representatives of the US and Ukrainian Defense Ministries declined to comment on this information.
According to them, F-16s from Denmark will also arrive in Ukraine soon.
The Washington Post previously wrote that about 80 fighters were promised to Kiev in total, which Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway should transfer. However, deliveries, according to the newspaper, will last for years, and by the end of 2024 Kiev will receive no more than 20 aircraft.
As the publication reported, by the end of the summer, only six pilots will complete their training and will be able to fly the F-16. Bloomberg's interlocutors doubted that Kiev would be able to immediately begin using the fighters supplied to it. In particular, because there are not enough runways in Ukraine, and those that exist are vulnerable to Russian attacks. In addition, while the Ukrainian pilots were training abroad, the situation on the battlefield has changed, and both sides of the conflict are "increasingly relying on cheap drones."
The F-16 was filmed in Lviv
However, despite the fears of experts, F-16 fighters have already made their first combat sorties in Ukraine. This was reported by the British newspaper The Telegraph, citing a source.
According to the newspaper, Kiev used airplanes as air defense equipment. The representative of the AFU Air Force did not deny this, the newspaper noted.
In addition, one of the transferred fighters has already been filmed in Ukraine. The photo of the F-16, taken in Lviv, was published on the night of August 1 by the Telegram channel "Military Informant". It is not specified exactly when the picture was taken, but the photo shows that the plane was captured over the Ukrainian city in the daytime.
Eva Vishnevskaya
