Your pilots Ukrainian Air Force began flights with fighters F-16 within Ukrainian airspace, said Volodymyr Zelenskyconfirming the long-awaited arrival of US-made fighter jets, more than 29 months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it. I am proud of our sons who operate the fighters and have already started using them in our country,” he said from an air base, according to Reuters.
The President of Ukraine has published a relevant video about X.
We are now in a new phase of development of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We have done a lot to transition the Ukrainian Air Force to a new aviation standard – Western combat aviation. Since the beginning of this war, we have been talking with our partners about… pic.twitter.com/z21yTU0Hjo
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленский (@ZelenskyyUa) August 4, 2024
On Thursday, Lithuania’s foreign minister and a US official said that the first Western fighters arrived in Ukraine.
Denmark has pledged to supply Ukraine with 19 fighter jets, while the Netherlands has pledged another 24. Norway plans to supply six more.
Three weeks ago, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the transfer of F-16 aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine was underway.
