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The Ukrainian military has started using F-16 fighter jets received from Western allies after lengthy negotiations, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
“We made possible what was our ambition, our defense need, and now — it is a reality in our sky. F-16s in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president said in a video message posted on X that showed at least two of the jets flying with Ukrainian colors.
After months of intense lobbying of its Western allies, Ukraine has received an undisclosed number of the U.S.-made fighter jets from two NATO members, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Ukrainian officials have been stressing for months their need for modern combat planes to replace their aging Soviet-era MiG and Sukhoi jets and better defend the country’s skies against Russia’s invasion.
In June, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told POLITICO that Ukraine would be able to use the F-16s donated by the Netherlands to strike targets on Russian territory.
Several Western countries, including NATO heavyweights France and the United States, have started training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s, with Kyiv pressing its allies to accelerate the pace of training. Paris has also pledged to provide Ukraine with its own Mirage 2000 veteran fighter jets.
