An advisor to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense Advisor Yuriy Sak said this in a commentary for the Washington Post.
“If we all pull our weight … and decisions are made quickly,” Sak said Friday, “I would estimate that end of September, early October, we could see the first F-16s flying in the Ukrainian airspace.”
The Washington Post suggests that the timing of the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine may not be as fast as it could be because potential suppliers - primarily the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Poland - need time to check their arsenals, and Ukrainian pilots need to be trained.
On May 19, US President Joe Biden said that the United States would not mind training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
The United States and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets as part of long-term efforts to strengthen the country's security.
On May 20, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Ukraine has not yet received F-16s, as other types of weapons will play a crucial role in the counteroffensive.