Colonel Grant tells what Ukraine needs to break through to Crimea, defeat Russia

26 August, 2023 Saturday

19:48

Army forces Ukraine counteroffensive

Ukraine needs to better equip infantrymen to break through to temporarily occupied Crimea and defeat the occupying Russian forces

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British Colonel Glen Grant said this on Espreso TV.

“So, if you want to break through to Crimea and defeat Russia, the infantry has to be better equipped. I know that they will be protected more from the air with F-16. That will stop Russian aircraft flying, almost certainly, but it won't stop drones. F-16 will not stop drones. So there needs to be more anti-drone equipment and more electronic warfare equipment against drones, because the threat from the air can be eliminated in the air," he said.

Glen Grant added that if drones are not stopped, the infantry will be extremely vulnerable, so a balance is needed between large systems and “small things that soldiers need to stay alive and to fight”.

Some details on F-16 fighters for Ukraine

On May 21, US President Joe Biden approved the training of Ukrainians on F-16s. Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured that Ukraine would not use these aircraft to strike at Russian territory.
Defense Ministry adviser Yuriy Sak said that Ukraine hopes to receive the first modern American F-16 fighters in the fall of 2023.
On May 25, at a meeting in the Ramstein format, it was announced that the coalition to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces with F-16s would be led by Denmark and the Netherlands and would include four other countries: Norway, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland.
On June 15, following the Ramstein meeting, Stoltenberg said that training on the F-16 had already begun. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin noted the rapid progress in this area, and a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force said that they wanted a quick result, but that "the process is delayed."
On June 22, Denmark requested assistance from the United States to train Ukrainian pilots in the use of F-16 fighters.
On July 1, President Zelenskyy mentioned that the schedule for training Ukrainian pilots on Western F-16 fighter jets has not been finalized yet, and some foreign partners are causing delays.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that the first F-16 fighter jets are likely to fly in Ukraine's skies by the end of March 2024.
On July 16, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US would not postpone training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, and Biden allowed European countries to start training.
On August 11, it was reported that the first group of Ukrainian pilots would complete training on F-16 fighter jets no earlier than next summer. The start of combat training will be preceded by 4-month language courses.
Subsequently, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi met with the Chief of Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces in Ukraine. Among the topics discussed was pilot training on F-16 fighter jets.
And Romanian President Klaus Iohannis confirmed that the country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s: a regional training center will be opened there.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat announced on August 17 that Ukraine won't be able to get F-16 fighters from Western allies during the upcoming fall or winter. Therefore, the focus will be on bolstering air defense capabilities.
On August 20 Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to the Netherlands to discuss the supply of F-16 fighter jets with Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte: according to the president, a "breakthrough agreement" was reached. Netherlands will send 42 F-16 fighters to Ukraine
On Sunday, August 20, Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that the Netherlands would provide Ukraine with 42 F-16 fighter jets, while Denmark committed to delivering 19 aircraft.
On August 21, Zelenskyy announced that Greece had also joined the so-called "aviation coalition" and would train Ukrainian pilots.
On August 24, during his visit to Kyiv, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed the country's plans to provide a certain number of F-16 fighters and join the training of pilots. The Norwegian government also announced that the country would provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles.
On the same day, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Portugal would join the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.