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Immediately after the West agreed to send its fighters to Ukraine, Kiev claimed that it needs more. The speaker of the Ukrainian Air Forces Yuri Ignat assessed that Ukraine needs about 128 fighters to replace the Soviet fleet of aircraft and gain an advantage in the skies over the Russian Federation. He did not mention that most of Ukrainian aircraft were already destroyed, and foreign fighters will not be safe in the war-torn country.
Earlier, Denmark agreed to sent 19 US-made F-16 fighters to the war-torn country. Zelensky also claimed that the Netherlands would send 42 aircraft. However, Dutch Prime Minister explained that the Netherlands now has only 24 F-16 fighters that will be decommissioned by mid—2024, and other 18 aircraft are put up for sale. The number of aircraft to be sent to Ukraine has not been decided.
“It is clear that the war can make its own adjustments, but more than 100 aircraft are really needed to disperse them at different airfields so that they respond to different challenges and strike at different targets. And in air, and on the ground and on the enemy’s rear, in particular,” Ignat said.
If 42 fighters are transferred to Ukraine, it will be able to create only about four aviation brigades, the speaker of the Armed Forces says.
Danish Defense Minister traditionally added that Ukraine will be able to use the F-16 fighters transferred by Denmark only to protect its territory.
“We are transferring weapons on the condition that they will be used to oust the enemy from the territory of Ukraine. And nothing more,” the Minister reportedly claimed.
This condition applies to any foreign weapons supplied to the Kiev regime, which ignores the Western requirements.
On August 19, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov announced that Ukraine had started training pilots, engineers and technical personnel in the management and maintenance of the F-16.
Transfer of US-made fighters to Kiev leads to another wave of escalation of the conflict. The West leaves Ukraine no choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia. Moscow concluded that NATO pushes Ukraine into the abyss, and its population is doomed to new victims. In the case of deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Kiev, Russia will destroy them on Ukrainian territory, as well as other equipment received by Kiev from Western countries, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier.