F-16 fighter jets land in Ukraine to bolster defense against Russia

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Lithuania's foreign minister announced on Thursday that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets has arrived in Ukraine.

This delivery is part of an effort to rebuild Ukraine's depleted air force amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on X: "F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible."

However, the Ukrainian government has yet to officially acknowledge receiving the jets.

On Monday, the Pentagon announced a security assistance package that includes air defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons for Ukraine.

It includes up to $200 million of equipment drawn from the Pentagon’s inventories under the presidential drawdown authority and approximately $1.5 billion in assistance authorized under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

The package marks the 62nd drawdown of military equipment for Ukraine from the Pentagon’s inventories, and the US has provided more than $55.4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Furthermore, during meetings with his NATO allies in Washington in mid-July this year, US President Joe Biden focused squarely on Ukraine and ensuring Kyiv has what it needs to defend itself and eventually oust Russia from the territories it continues to occupy after two years of grueling war.

The announcements made this week culminated with the signing of what is known as the Ukraine Compact, which is a shared pledge by 22 NATO allies and partners to ensure Ukraine has what it needs in the long run.

Additional weapons transfers were also announced, including the provision of five Patriot air defense systems, and the announcement that F-16 fighter jets long sought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying over the war-torn nation’s skies this summer.