Ukraine will not receive F-16 fighters until counteroffensive is over – NATO military chief

Ukraine's defense forces will not receive modern Western F-16 fighter jets until its counteroffensive is completed, said the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Rob Bauer.

He said in an interview with the LBC radio station that the issue of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine "will not be solved in the short term."

"The discussion on the fighters is an important one, but it will not be solved in the short term for this counteroffensive," the official said. "Training those pilots, training the technicians, making sure there is a logistic organization that can actually sustain these aircraft will not be available before this counteroffensive."

According to him, it is "important and understandable" that Ukraine is asking for Western fighter jets, but "we should not mix this with the discussion of a counteroffensive now."

Asked if he thought Ukraine could win a war against Russia without fighter jets, Bauer added.

"I think Ukraine has an advantage because it has Western weapon systems, has better training, and, very importantly, much higher morale and motivation."

The day before, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, said that "one of the countries" promised Ukraine to train Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets last mo. Still, due to an error in the calculations, this did not happen.

The issue of providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets was discussed during the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ("Ramstein" format) in June.

After it, it became known that by July, the partners of Ukraine planned to approve the training program for Ukrainian pilots, engineers, and technicians on F-16 fighter jets. The training will occur in a specially created center in one of the European countries.

Politico says Western F-16 fighters may be transferred to Ukraine in early 2024.

What we know about Ukrainian pilots training on F-16 fighters

Recently, Britain agreed to begin training Ukrainian pilots even though London does not have American F-16 fighter jets.

British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons stated that Ukrainian pilots would undergo basic training to transfer and develop their skills in controlling Western aircraft.

Earlier, the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Great Britain agreed to work on forming an international coalition of fighter jets for Ukraine. Denmark joined them.

In early June, Air Force spokesman Colonel Yurii Ihnat announced that Kyiv had selected the first groups of Ukrainian pilots for training in Britain.

In total, the "coalition of fighter jets" already includes eight countries, and Ukraine is working on its expansion. Partners note that the fighter jet transfer to Ukraine will only be possible after pilot training.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, believes that the delivery of Western aircraft can be expected no earlier than the New Year.