Ukrainian leader says F-16s were scrambled to intercept Russian missiles during massive strike on Monday
The Ukrainian Air Force sent US-made F-16 fighter jets for the first time to intercept Russian missiles on Monday, Vladimir Zelensky said. He added, however, that the number of warplanes supplied by the West so far was insufficient.
Several NATO states, including the US, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden, pledged to donate the aircraft to Kiev last year. The countries established an ‘F-16 coalition’ to expedite deliveries and organise pilot training.
While there is no set timeframe, with the aircraft expected to arrive in several batches over several years, Ukraine can expect around 85 fighters, according to media estimates.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, Zelensky said: “The F-16 [had] a good result… As part of this huge [Russian] missile attack [on Monday] we shot down some of the rockets with the help of F-16s.” While the Ukrainian leader expressed gratitude to the country’s Western backers for supplying the warplanes, he called for more deliveries and broader training programs for Ukrainian pilots.
On Monday, Russia unleashed what Kiev authorities described as “one of the largest combined strikes” since the beginning of the conflict in February 2022.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the “massive high-precision strike” against the neighboring country was carried out using long-range air and sea weapons, as well as drones. It targeted energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s defense industrial complex in particular, as well as several airfields storing Western-supplied aerial munitions, officials said.
“All designated targets were hit,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, Zelensky confirmed on his Telegram channel the arrival of the first US-made F-16s, but did not reveal the numbers. He praised the aircraft as being capable of delivering “exactly such combat results will bring us closer to victory – our just peace for Ukraine.”
Moscow has warned that the F-16s, as was the case with other Western weapons supplied to Kiev, will not change the outcome of the conflict and will only serve to prolong the bloodshed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the fighters are not a “magic pill” and it will be gradually “cast down and destroyed.” He predicted the arrival of the F-16s “will not be able to significantly influence the dynamics of events at the front.”