Ukraine confirms they have received F-16s! Zelensky – Vesti announced

Photo: Tanjug/AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The arrival of the F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine marks a new chapter in the country’s air force,” confirming the fighter jets’ arrival in the country.

Since the start of the war, Ukraine has called on allies to reroute aircraft to protect its skies from Russian missiles. Russia has and maintains air superiority over Ukraine, with F-16 fighter jets a major upgrade to Kiev’s armaments.

“We held hundreds of meetings and negotiations to strengthen our aviation and air defense capabilities,” Zelensky said in a speech at an air base outside Kiev.

“The answer we often heard was that it was not possible. Now it has become a reality. The F-16s are in Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

“I am proud of all those who have taken control of these aircraft and have begun to use them for our country,” the Ukrainian president added.

Zelensky said he was grateful to partners, especially the countries that were the first to accept Kyiv’s request.

“I thank Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States. And all our partners – we appreciate your support,” he said.

“Now this is a new chapter for our air force. We have done a lot of work for the Ukrainian air force to move towards a new aviation standard – Western fighter jets,” he said.

Zelensky said he could not comment on specific combat missions or how many F-16s were already in Ukraine.

“At the moment, the number that is available in Ukraine and the number of pilots that have been trained is not enough,” he said, adding that “the planes are in our skies.”

“It’s great that they arrived and we can use them. At least today I can honestly tell you that we can use them,” he added.

(Telegraf.rs)