As Kiev is ready to step up its counteroffensive against Russian troops in the east and south of the country, the secretary general of NATO has confirmed that Ukrainian fighter pilots are being taught to operate the US-made F-16 planes.
Even though the NATO partners have not yet reached an agreement on the transfer of F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukrainian soldiers were already being trained.
As he arrived at a conference of defense ministers in Brussels, Stoltenberg said, “The fact that training has started provides us with the option to also decide to deliver the planes and then the pilots will be ready to fly them.”
The declaration follows months of discussion among the US and its Western partners over whether to send F-16s to Ukraine and the possibility of using them against Russia, which might intensify the war.
Any nation with aircraft in its arsenal that wants to sell them must first get permission from the US.
US President Joe Biden turned down Ukrainian pleas for the light fighter aircraft earlier in February.
Given that it needs extensive training and that Russia possesses anti-aircraft weapons that could easily shoot them down, the US is hesitant to provide the jet.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has made many attempts to reassure the US that the aircraft would be used to strike Russian soldiers within Ukraine.
The Ukrainian pilots, who have previously flown mostly in Soviet-standard aircraft, would need months of instruction to operate the F-16s.
Even if NATO nations agree to provide Ukraine with the aircraft, it lacks a runway that can accommodate an American fighter plane.
According to a study released in March, the US collaborated with the Ukrainian pilots and carried out a “familiarization event” to gauge how long it would take them to train to fly F-16 fighter planes.
By agreeing to provide Ukraine F-16 fighter planes last month, Western countries were warned by Russia that they were “playing with fire” and risking an unacceptably rapid escalation of the conflict.
Russia claims Ukraine has suffered “catastrophic” casualties, while Kiev’s military says it is “moving forward” as it launches an onslaught in the east and south of the nation.
Ukrainian army have advanced two to four miles into previously held territory. According to reports, the Ukrainian army has moved up to 4 kilometers in Donetsk and 2 miles in the Zaporizhzhia area.
