Ukrainian F-16s have scored their first victory against Russia after U.S.-made fighter jets were deployed to shoot down the latest barrage of Russian missiles and drones, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the planes, which arrived earlier this month, were essential to mitigating the damage caused by Monday’s massive attack, in which more than 200 missiles and drones were fired from Russia, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“(The F-16s had) a very good result,” Zelensky told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “We thank our partners for providing us with the F-16s.”
“Of course, it’s not enough,” he added. “We don’t have many and we still need to train pilots.”
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged to provide Ukraine with more than 80 F-16s after getting the green light from the Biden-Harris administration, with the first batch of planes and trained pilots arriving about three weeks before Monday’s attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force said kyiv’s aircraft and air defense system were able to shoot down 102 missiles and 99 drones on Monday, but those claims could not be independently verified.
Authorities reported that the attack, which affected half of Ukraine, killed at least four people, with the Russian assault also hitting major power plants and causing blackouts across the country.
The Kremlin claimed the attack specifically targeted kyiv’s energy infrastructure and airfields, but the latter are protected by newly installed rocket interception systems, which provide security for the F-16s.
Zelensky and military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that once more F-16 jets and pilots were acquired, kyiv would be able to successfully defend itself against Russian air assaults.
The F-16s’ first mission bodes well for their defensive capabilities despite concerns that Ukrainian pilots may not have been well equipped to handle the powerful aircraft.
The pilots trained for just one year at the European F-16 Training Center in the Netherlands, compared to four years for a Danish pilot.
Other NATO countries, including the United States, have volunteered to allow more Ukrainian pilots to train on F-16s in their country, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Ukrainian officials have also suggested using the planes to directly attack Russia, as Zelensky has called on the United States and its Western allies to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons against Moscow.
Despite the blows Ukraine suffered on Monday, there is little evidence that the West will lift restrictions on the weapons it supplies to Ukraine.
