Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA Oksana Markarova said that providing Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets is critical to the country’s short and long-term future.
“This is the potential that we certainly need,” - said Oksana Markarova, speaking at Boston College, writes news.sky.com.
The US has agreed to help Ukraine train pilots to fly F-16s. But they provided few details and said a decision on when, how much and by whom the F-16 will be delivered will be made in the coming months. Some military experts suggest that it could take up to a year before the fighter jets are ready for deployment in Ukraine.
Markarova also used her speech to criticize the Russian invasion, which she called “a genocidal attack aimed at destroying Ukrainian statehood.”
“A strong, successful, democratic, European Ukraine is Russia’s worst nightmare,” she added.
We add that the F-16 is a high-tech fighter built by the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin. It is a multirole fighter aircraft built for the US Air Force that can reach speeds of up to 1,500 miles per hour and has a range of over 2,002 miles. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the F-16 was used to attack airfields, military production facilities, and other targets. It has also been used in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and the Persian Gulf. But the F-16s are being phased out of service, being replaced by even more advanced aircraft, including the next generation F-35.
However, the F-16s would still provide a significant boost to Ukraine’s military capabilities, both in terms of air defense and counter-offensive support.
Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: he does not expect modern fighter jets to be delivered to Ukraine in the near future.
Source: Fakty
I am currently working as a news website author at Daily News Hack. I mostly cover trending news and have been doing so for quite some time now. I have always had a keen interest in current affairs and the world around me, which is what led me to my current job.
