Ukraine will not receive F-16 fighters this winter - Air Force

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said this during a national telethon.

"It is already obvious that we will not be able to defend Ukraine with F-16s this fall and winter," he emphasized.

There were high hopes for the Western fighter jets, which were supposed to become part of Ukraine's air defense and help repel Russian missile and drone attacks, the spokesman said.

"However, the issue of training our personnel (both pilots and engineers) has actually moved forward. We understand that our pilots will be trained in the near future in the countries that are members of the "aviation coalition" that provide us with this support. At the same time, we need to strengthen our air defense," Ihnat said.

What is known about 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.

• In July, 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 Sunday, 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 July 22, Sullivan also said that Ukrainian pilots would begin training on F-16s in the next few weeks.

• 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.

• On August 12, the White House said that the United States could join the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s on its territory if "the potential for training in Europe is achieved."

• Later, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told Espreso that work on the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine is underway every day: the negotiation process is complicated - all countries that are part of the "air coalition" make a collective decision.

• And Romanian President Klaus Iohannis confirmed that the country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s: a regional training center will be opened there.