FM Kuleba names two obstacles Ukraine faces before receiving F-16 fighters

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this. 

According to him, the current obstacles to obtaining the aircraft are the lack of appropriate infrastructure for them in Ukraine and pilot training, which is still ongoing.

Kuleba emphasized that the partners have now made all the decisions in principle regarding the F-16.

"And you remember the president's tour when he was in the Netherlands, in Denmark, when we showed the planes that will fly in our airspace. The latest achievement of the aviation coalition is the decision of Belgium to provide aircraft," the minister said.

"As soon as the pilots complete their training, and the infrastructure for this is being prepared in Ukraine, the planes will be in Ukraine. That is, the only obstacles for F-16s to appear in the Ukrainian air are the completion of pilot training and infrastructure preparation. The optimistic scenario, I think, is somewhere in the first half of next year," he added.

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. 

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 August 17, the United States approved the shipment of F-16 multi-role fighters to Ukraine.

At the same time, Denmark said it would supply Ukraine with the aircraft if they were not used in Russia.