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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed the country’s pilots have “already started” flying F-16 fighter jets.
The demonstration of the long-awaited jets comes 29 months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
What’s next?
The president plans to lobby allies to help intercept Russian missiles being launched at Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has displayed the nation’s newly-acquired F-16 fighter jets, with hopes the planes will boost Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
The arrival of the Lockheed Martin jets — 29 months after Russia’s invasion — marks a milestone for Ukraine, as Kyiv long lobbied for their use.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it,” Mr Zelenskyy said on Monday local time.
The president met with military pilots at an air base flanked by two of the jets, with two more flying overhead.
“I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country.”
Mr Zelenskyy said Kyiv hosted hundreds of meetings to obtain the F-16s.
“This is the new stage of development of the air force of Ukraine’s armed forces,” he said.
“We did a lot for Ukrainian forces to transition to a new aviation standard, the Western combat aviation.”
“We often heard ‘it is impossible’ as an answer, but we still made our ambition, our defensive need, possible.”
The jets are equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
It remains unclear what missiles the jets are equipped with.
A longer range of missile would allow them to have a greater battlefield impact, military analysts told Reuters.
It also remains unclear how many are available and how much of an impact they will have in enhancing air defences.
Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the jets would help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
“This means that more of the occupiers will be destroyed,” Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Facebook.
“It means a greater number of downed missiles and aircraft used by the Russian criminals to attack Ukrainian cities.”
Russia has been targeting bases that may house the F-16s and has vowed to shoot them down.
Talking to reporters at an airfield, Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine still did not have enough pilots trained to use the F-16s or enough of the jets themselves.
“The positive thing is that we are expecting additional F-16s … many guys are now training,” he said.
Hopes for expanded training programmes
He also said it was important that Kyiv’s allies find ways to expand training programmes and opportunities for both Ukrainian pilots and engineering teams.
Ukraine has previously relied on an aging fleet of Soviet-era warplanes, which Russia’s more advanced and numerous fleet outguns.
Russia has used that edge to conduct regular long-range missile strikes on targets across Ukraine and pound Ukrainian frontline positions with thousands of guided bombs, supporting forces that are slowly advancing in the east.
Mr Zelenskyy said he also hoped, through conversations at the Ukraine-NATO Council platform, to lobby allied neighbouring countries to help intercept Russian missiles being launched at Ukraine.
“This is another tool, and I want to try it, so that NATO countries can talk to Ukraine about the possibility of a small coalition of neighbouring countries shooting down enemy missiles,” he said.
“This decision is probably difficult for our partners.
“They are always afraid of excessive escalation, but we are fighting that.”
abc news