The United States has approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
report Mehr News, White House National Security Council spokesman “Jake Sullivan” announced that according to the agreement, F-16 fighters will be delivered to Ukraine.
Sullivan said in an interview with the “PBS” network: According to the framework of the bilateral security agreement signed between the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, the deployment of F-fighters 16 has been approved in Ukraine.
Russia believes that sending weapons to Ukraine is incompatible with “de-escalation efforts” and direct participation of NATO member states in the Ukraine war is “playing with fire”.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that any order to send weapons to Ukraine is a legitimate goal of the Russian armed forces.
According to Lavrov, America and NATO are directly involved in the war in Ukraine, not only by supplying military weapons but also by training Ukrainian military forces in England, Germany, Italy and other countries. Previously, the Russian government emphasized that the provision of arms to Ukraine from the West is incompatible with peace negotiations and will have a negative effect.
This American official claims to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, today Wednesday Alexandra Ustinova, head of the arms supply commission in the Ukrainian parliament, announced that the American claim about not training enough pilots The Ukrainian for flying the F-16 is an excuse for Washington so as not to anger Moscow.
Kiev’s supporters in the “F-16 coalition” consisting of the United States, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, promised to supply and deliver 60 American F-16 fighters to The end of the year has been given to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian pilots are being trained in America and Denmark, and another training course has been prepared in Romania, which has not yet started.
Ustinova said in an interview with The Times: So far, only eight Ukrainian pilots have received the necessary training at the Morris Air Base in Arizona. 12 other pilots are being trained in Denmark.
He added: Delays in preparation and training mean that Ukraine will probably have only 20 trained pilots by the end of this year. Ukraine previously requested at least 10 more quotas for education, which the United States opposed.
Politico newspaper wrote last week that Kiev’s efforts to send 30 more pilots to training bases in the West have been unsuccessful. Ukrainian pilots also face a language barrier.
Ustinova said about America’s justification for the delay in pilot training: These are not reasons and proofs, but excuses, and the Americans always make the same excuses.
He added: Probably the reason for the delays is Washington’s fear that the large presence of F-16 fighters in the war in Ukraine will lead Moscow to think that Kiev It is on the way to join NATO and the issue is completely political.
The Ukrainian politician added: Ukraine urgently needs the F-16 fighter to moderate the effect of Russian guided bombs. These bombs are gigantic and weigh between 500 and 1500 kg, and the only solution for Kiev is to shoot them down with a fighter.
Moscow has repeatedly warned about the delivery of weapons and military equipment to Kiev, stressing that this will only prolong the war. Russia has also emphasized that these fighters and the hangar where they are kept will undoubtedly be the legitimate targets of the Moscow army.
