Kuleba: decision to hand over F-16s to Kiev will depend on results of counter-offensive by the AFU
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that the decision to provide Kiev with F-16 aircraft will be tied to the results of the Ukrainian counterattack.
“We will receive F-16 planes. It is a matter of time. It is our job and the job of the president’s team to make sure we do it as soon as possible. I think this decision (to provide Kiev with fighter jets – ed.) … will be tied to the results of the counterattack,” Kuleba said on the Ukrainian TV programme Breakfast with 1+1. According to him, if Ukraine had F-16s already now, the counteroffensive “would be much faster”.
Earlier, Kuleba said that supplying Kiev with US F-16 fighter jets will not provoke Russia to escalate the conflict. US Undersecretary of Defence Colin Kahl said that it would take the USA a year and a half to supply Kiev with F-16 fighter jets if such a decision is taken by the administration.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in early April that a Ukrainian counteroffensive could start in summer. He later said that it would start “in the near future”. US media reported that a Ukrainian counteroffensive was allegedly scheduled for 30 April. Experts interviewed by RIA Novosti noted that the contradictory statements by Kiev and Washington should not be believed: it could be part of a disinformation campaign.
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