The United States believes that Russia’s current air defense and air force capabilities make it less than ideal to supply Ukraine with US F-16 fighter jets now.
According to “European Truth”, director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army Lieutenant General Douglas Sims said this at a briefing on Thursday.
A representative of the Ministry of Defense of the United States noted that the conditions under which combat operations take place change over time, “but now the conditions for the use of the F-16 are probably not ideal.”
“I mean, the Russians still have some air defense potential. They also have aerial potential. And the number of F-16s that will be provided may not be ideal for what is happening now,” he clarified.
At the same time, Sims added that since the future will change, “it will certainly dictate how American fighter jets will be used” by Ukraine.
Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, suggested that Western fighters may appear in the Ukrainian sky in the early spring of 2024.
Subsequently, he urged not to be afraid of the threatening statements of the Kremlin and expressed confidence that Ukraine will still receive F-16 fighters.
