Russia Selensky presents Ukraine's first F-16

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has presented the first American-made F-16 fighter jets in the service of his air force. On Air Force Day, Zelenskyi appeared at an undisclosed airfield in front of two aircraft that his country had received from foreign partners. "Now it is a reality in our skies, the F-16s are in Ukraine". A video distributed on Platform X shows various fighter jets in the Ukrainian sky, including the F-16.

Selensky did not provide any information on how many fighter jets have now arrived in Ukraine. "So far, the number of F-16s available in Ukraine and the number of pilots already trained are not enough," he said. Western media recently reported that ten aircraft had already been handed over to Kiev.

The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium have together promised Ukraine over 60 of the American-made fighter jets and have taken over the training of Ukrainian pilots. According to American media reports, the weapons and equipment for the jets are to come from the USA.

"The positive thing is that we are expecting additional F-16s," Selensky continued. "Another positive thing is that many of our people are now learning, I mean training." Selenskyj did not, however, provide any details on how the new fighter jets would be used.

According to Ukrainian military experts, the F-16s are unlikely to be used in direct air combat with Russian aircraft over the front line, as Russia has built up a dense air defense network. In addition, the Russian military is likely to attempt to destroy the F-16s at their bases in Ukraine.