President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the arrival of the first F-16 aircraft in Ukraine, noting that it is now a reality in our skies, UNN reports.
I am proud of all our guys who have mastered these aircraft and have already started using them for our country. I thank our team for this result. I thank all the partners who are really helping with the F-16s, and the first countries that accepted our request for the aircraft - Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States - and all our partners - we appreciate your support
Zelensky also added that today Ukraine honors the strength and skill of our people, thanks to which the sky in our country remains Ukrainian.
"The enemy does not and will not dominate the skies of our country. This will always be the case. The Russian occupier was hoping to destroy our Russian aviation and air defense, our ability to defend our country, but Ukrainians did not allow it. This is a real heroism when our Air Force soldiers had to confront the larger Russian air force and Ukraine was able to achieve its goals, was able to defend itself, was able to destroy the occupier. Now is a new stage in the development of the Ukrainian Air Force. We have done a lot to ensure that the Ukrainian Air Force has moved to a new standard of aviation. Since the beginning of this war, we have been talking to our partners about the need to protect our Ukrainian skies from russian missiles and Russian aircraft. We have held hundreds of meetings and negotiations to realize the capabilities of our aviation, to strengthen the capabilities of our air defense. We often heard the word "it's impossible" in response, but we did what was our ambition, our defense need. And now it is a reality in our skies. F-16s in Ukraine, we have ensured it," Zelensky added.
Recall
The Times reports that six F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands have arrived in Ukraine. Several more aircraft are expected to arrive soon from Denmark, although there is no official confirmation of this information.