NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he could not give an exact timeframe for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but hoped that the delivery would begin as soon as possible. He said this during a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday after the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, UNN reports.
I certainly welcome the decision of the allies on NATO, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway to supply F-16s. I welcome the fact that pilot training for the F-16 has already begun, and only a few weeks ago a pilot training center was also established in Romania. I cannot give an exact date, but I hope that the delivery will start as soon as possible. We have the airplanes. But what needs to be done is to train the pilots, and this is ongoing,
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General indicated that he thinks "it is important that the F-16s will change the situation". "They will enhance Ukraine's ability to inflict casualties on invading Russian forces. And the F-16s will also help to further strengthen Ukraine's air defense," he said.
"At the same time, I believe that we must now realize that there is no "silver bullet", no system that will radically change the situation on the battlefield by itself. The issue is the joint simultaneous work of many different capabilities, which will push the Russians back. We need to be prepared for a long and hard fight," Stoltenberg emphasized.
At the same time, he pointed out that he, of course, welcomed the delivery of modern battle tanks, HIMARS, cruise missiles and advanced air defense systems, as well as the approval of the delivery of F-16s. "But again, there is no 'silver bullet'. There is no single system that by itself would dramatically change the situational battlefield," the NATO Secretary General emphasized.
Recall
The statement of the NATO-Ukraine Council following the meeting statesthat "member states remain steadfast in their commitment to further increase political and practical support for Ukraine" and "will continue to provide support for as long as necessary."