F-16 fighter jets land in Ukraine to bolster defence against Russia
Al Jazeera
The F-16s have been on Ukraine’s wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability.
The first batch of long-awaited F-16 jets have arrived in Ukraine, Lithuania’s foreign minister and a United States official have said, an effort Kyiv has said will help rebuild its depleted air force.
Ukraine has been eager to acquire F-16s, built by Lockheed Martin, because of their destructive power and global availability. The fighter jet is equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
“F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on X on Wednesday.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the delivery had been completed. The Ukrainian government has not confirmed receipt of the jets.
Ukraine has been pushing its Western allies for F-16s for months, saying they were critical in fighting back against the onslaught of missiles Russia has fired against it. The West has moved haltingly towards providing the jets, after previous concerns that arming Ukraine with advanced weaponry would further escalate the war with Russia.
