Ukraine receives first F-16 fighter jets

Ukraine has received its first American-made F-16 fighter jets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“IF-16 in Ukraine. We did it,” President Zelensky said at a ceremony in a secret location, surrounded by planes.

He thanked Denmark, the Netherlands and the US in particular for facilitating the delivery of the jets following an 18-month wait – although he added that many more were needed.

Their arrival marks an important milestone in the development of Ukraine’s military, which relies heavily on old Soviet-era jets.

Mr Zelensky did not specify how many planes had arrived in Ukraine – although they were all sent by the three Nato countries he listed.

About 65 F-16s have been pledged by NATO countries since US President Joe Biden first authorized the European allies to send them to Ukraine in August 2023.

The UK does not have F-16s in its air force, although it does provide long-range Storm Shadow missiles that can be mounted on the jet.

The IF-16 was introduced in 1978. Many Western militaries are in the process of retiring their aging fighters, replacing them with the US-made F-35, which was introduced in 2015.

The F-16s will operate alongside a limited number of Western-supplied surface-to-air missile systems such as Patriot and NASAMS that are already on the ground.

This year Ukraine has been under heavy threat of Russian glide bombs – bombers equipped with a pop-out wing kit and guidance modules to deliver precision strike capabilities, similar to the JDAM weapons from the United States.

About 3,000 were downed in March alone, most of them from Su-34 fighter-bombers.

If Ukraine can protect its F-16s on the ground, the hope is that they can play a significant role in pushing back Russian aircraft until they can no longer target Ukrainian ground forces with cruise missiles.

Kyiv has suggested it could keep some of the F-16s at foreign military bases, but that proposal prompted President Vladimir Putin to warn that any Western bases keeping the jets in Ukraine would be a legitimate war against Russia.

Experts also say the fighters could provide much-needed air support to Ukrainian forces, which have faced relentless attacks in recent months, especially in the eastern Donbas region.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov earlier vowed that Western-made F-16s flying into Ukraine would be “shot down”.

“However, this delivery will not have a significant impact on the development of events ahead,” he added.