When I see Earth, I wonder why evil people like Vladimir Putin do such terrible things - NASA astronaut Terry Virts

You have flown many military aircraft, including the F-16 fighter jet. I think that almost every Ukrainian has heard about it now, and many have even searched for information about it on the Internet. This is because Western countries are now considering providing us with this aircraft so that we can fight the Russian aggressor more effectively. In your professional opinion, how long will it take Ukrainian pilots to learn to fly the F-16? 

Well, I think the question is not whether Ukraine will get F-16s, I think the question is when it will get them - this year or next year, or in five years. On February 25 last year, I tweeted that we should train Ukrainian pilots. To be honest, it will probably take them a few months to become very, very good and very capable. The problem is not flying an airplane, the problem is learning how to use different types of weapons. So, a quicker and easier solution might be to integrate the weapons that we have on the existing Ukrainian MIGs for a very short-term solution, but in the long run it will take several months. And it's not just about pilots, but also about ground crew and logistics: for every pilot, there are 10 or 20 mechanics on the ground who also have to learn how to fly the F-16. It's not a simple or quick solution, but we have to start it today because it takes time and I think it should have happened last year. 

Mr. Virts, do these aircraft require special airfields?

No, they run on jet fuel, the same as airliners. There is a special fuel for military aircraft, but they can also run on basic airliner fuel.

What is the operational range of the F16? That is, if it is based, for example, at an airfield in Western Ukraine, can it fly, for example, 700-800 kilometers with a full load to the east and return?

The big question is whether it flies at high altitude or low altitude. If at high altitude, then with two large fuel tanks on board, it can fly quite far. And if at a low altitude, then probably only a few hundred kilometers. So it depends on the altitude. The problem is that Russian surface-to-air missiles are very powerful, and you can't just fly an F-16 at 30,000 feet and ignore who they're going to shoot down. So the question is how do these Russian missiles affect the altitude.

People here in Ukraine are wondering whether it would be better to have the F-16s or F-15s. What do you think? 

Well, I'm an F-16 guy. So I'm biased towards the F-16. The F-15 is a great airplane. It's bigger, it can carry more stuff, more weapons, and the F-15 model can fly very far. The problem is that they are much more expensive to operate, and you get half as many airplanes, so you can have twice as many F-16s as F-15s. I think for Ukraine's needs, the F-16 is the perfect airplane.

Recently, you responded on Twitter to Elon Musk, who said that Starlinks on the battlefield in Ukraine could start World War III. You wrote literally the following: “You are smart enough to know that resisting a dictator and fighting to defend your country isn't going to start World War III.” Elon Musk is smart enough for sure, so why did you make this statement?

You know, it's very disappointing. I admire him, I like what he's done with SpaceX, but some of his comments about Ukraine sound like Kremlin propaganda. It's very disappointing to say the least. You know, what he did with Starlink really helped Ukraine, and I appreciate that. And it needs to continue, but some people are just blinded. What Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine is evil. He's trying to take over a free democracy because of his own ego and evil desires, so we just have to have our eyes wide open. And I think it's quite dangerous for Elon Musk to say the things that he says from time to time. So I hope he comes to his senses and goes back to the right things.

You also recently wrote about the ongoing battle for space and how China is very active in this space. What about Russia?

Well, Russia is very active in space. They are launching American astronauts to the International Space Station, and this has to stop. Russia is very active in space. Right before the invasion last year, they had a military anti-satellite demonstration where they blew up a satellite, and it created a huge cloud of hundreds of pieces of debris that still threatens the International Space Station. It's a very active country in space and with a man like Vladimir Putin in charge, you don't know exactly what they're going to do, so I hope that will change. I don't know when it will happen, but I hope it's in the long run.

And the last question: how did you feel when you first looked at the Earth from a height of 400 kilometers?

I've written several books about it and I speak about this all the time. It is an amazing thing. This is such a beautiful planet. When I first saw the Earth in daylight, my first impression was that I had never seen such a shade of blue before. I saw a blue atmosphere, and it was hard for me to go back to work. I was a space shuttle pilot, so I had a job to do, but I just wanted to look out the window and see this beautiful planet. The Earth is really impressive. When you see it, you wonder why evil people like Vladimir Putin do these terrible things. The West and freedom-loving people must stand together and fight this evil.