Photo: Air Force denies F-16 rumors (Getty Images) Author: Dmitry Levitsky
Expert: Yuriy Ignat
The American publication Newsweek wrote that the first F-16 aircraft have probably already arrived in Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian Air Force does not confirm this information.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Newsweek and a commentary by Air Force Speaker Yuri Ignat.
Rumors of the F-16 arriving in Ukraine come after the Russian army lost four Su-34s over the past week. Russian propagandists suggested that the Sukhoi could be shot down with the help of F-16s, which Ukraine is waiting for from its Western partners. Moreover, the Russians have already even managed to announce the alleged destruction of the first planes.
Today, as Newsweek writes, an unnamed source in the United States suggested that Ukraine has probably received the first of the F-16s promised to it.
However, in a commentary to RBC-Ukraine, Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat denied the arrival of the F-16 in Ukraine. According to him, preparations are still underway in Ukraine to receive the first aircraft.
Updated 20:21
Later, Ignat published a message on the social network Facebook, in which he responded to the Newsweek publication.
“The American edition of Newsweek published material “nothing” with incredible assumptions about the presence of F-16s in Ukraine and even their probable involvement in the destruction of six Russian aircraft. This is a great chance for hype for our telegram channels and various media that do not care about their own reputation,” – he wrote.
The Air Force spokesman also added that the presence of F-16s in Ukraine now would be inappropriate.
F-16 for Ukraine
Let us recall that this year Ukraine’s Western allies created an aviation coalition to transfer modern fighters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in particular the F-16. As part of this coalition, Ukraine will receive at least 61 aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands. The first F-16s will likely appear in Ukraine in the spring of 2024.
In early November, the Netherlands sent the first five F-16 fighters to Romania to train Ukrainian pilots, where they opened a special center. In addition, yesterday the first group of Ukrainian pilots began training on the F-16 in Denmark.
As the air force has previously stated, Ukraine has grandiose plans for the F-16 fighters, as they are capable of performing a wide range of missions.
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