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The first batch of F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on July 31.
“It’s not clear whether Ukrainian pilots, who have trained with their western allies over the past months, will be able to immediately use the warplanes or the process will take longer,” writes the media.
If the information is comfirmed, this will mean that Ukraine’s allies squeezed into the deadline as they promised the jets would arrive in Ukraine at the end of July.
Experts argue whether the fighter jets will significantly change the situation on the battlefield, but most of them agree that Ukraine will begin with using F-16s as an air defence strenghtening element.
Ukraine’s defense ministry hasn’t commented on the Bloomberg’s report.
In May 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden allowed transfer of American-made F-16s to Ukraine.
Read also: U.S. to provide its equipment for Ukraine’s F-16s in volumes that are ‘critical’
