UKRAINE, Aug 5 — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented F-16 fighter jets in the Ukrainian sky, emphasizing the beginning of a new stage in the development of the Air Force. He announced this on his official Telegram.

Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway agreed to provide Ukraine with about 80 American-made F-16 jets. Ukraine has been waiting for months to start using them, but delays in the delivery of the aircraft and pilot training have slowed the process.

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine has done a lot to ensure that the Air Force switches to a new standard of aviation — “Western combat aviation.” Therefore, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has started a series of negotiations with partner countries on the need to protect Ukrainian skies from Russian missiles and aircraft.

“We often heard, ‘It’s impossible’. But … we have made our ambition, our defense need, possible, and now it is a reality in our skies — F-16s in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

The President did not mention the number of aircraft. He thanked the Ukrainian pilots who are training the new planes and the international partners who helped make this initiative a reality.

Read more

  • Near Hlyboke, the Russian army conducted evacuation and started mining the areas in the possible directions of the advance of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. They are also preparing assault groups for offensives