Ukraine prepares airfields for F-16 fighters

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said this during a briefing.

“We need to prepare the airfield infrastructure so that pilots can land safely on runways. Work on this issue is already underway in various regions of Ukraine. In particular, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Infrastructure and other relevant agencies are involved to help us build the airfield network,” he said.

According to Ihnat, in the future, military airfields may become jointly used by civilian and military aircraft.

In particular, the new airfields could accommodate American F-16 fighters, which are currently being considered for possible transfer to Ukraine due to their multifunctionality. It is known that one such aircraft can strike ground targets with various types of weapons (bombs, missiles, etc.) and can also become part of air defense, protecting the sky from air attacks.

“This (the transfer of aircraft from the allies - ed.) would greatly help Ukraine on its way to victory and the de-occupation of our lands. How long it will take is a rather tentative question, because there are extremely long terms, and such terms are not suitable for training pilots and aviation engineers in war conditions,” Ihnat says.

• On January 26, Politico reported that Ukraine's international partners have begun debating the supply of modern fighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

• On January 25, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Ukraine's "wish list" for weapons supplied by the West includes fighter jets.