Ukraine will receive only six F-16 fighter jets by the end of spring 2024 instead of the 45 aircraft promised to it by European allies, the US newspaper The New York Times (NYT) reported, citing sources.
“The 12 pilots – less than a full squadron – are expected to be ready to fly F-16s in combat by this summer after 10 months of training in Denmark, Britain and the United States. But by the time the pilots return to Ukraine, only six F-16s will have been delivered out of about 45 fighters promised by European allies,” the NYT publication wrote.
According to the NYT, “much uncertainty remains about when each country will send its planes, how many will be sent, how quickly pilots can be trained and how Ukraine will get enough people to properly maintain the planes.”
According to the newspaper, there is still no exact date when Ukrainian pilots will start training at the training centre at the Fetesti airbase in Romania, which is used by NATO allies to train to pilot F-16s.
We shall remind you that earlier, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada’s committee for national security, defence and intelligence, Yegor Chernev, said in an interview with The New York Times that there was a growing fear in Ukraine that the army would soon start losing control over populated areas if Washington delays the allocation of new military aid to the Ukrainian government.
