Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, said that the Ukrainian side would not comment on the alleged arrival of the first batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. He added that this is a topic where the "fog of war" is very appropriate, because it should be reflected appropriately on the battlefield. He said this on the air of a telethon, according to a correspondent of UNN .
I see this as information speculation, and I would like to see less of it. Still, we should always pay attention to official comments. By the way, the Bloomberg article does not cite any official source from which they got this information. I am not talking about the Ukrainian side, because we will not comment on this, neither yes nor no. Why? Because this is a factor of essential survival for us. I mean the aviation component. We don't have the time to say for sure whether we have them or not. But they don't even cite any sources in the West
According to him, this distorts the information space and distorts real expectations.
It distorts the idea of what difficulties Ukraine faces in terms of providing this stage of the war, what types of weapons are needed. That is why I advise you to always wait for official confirmation... Ukraine does not make official statements if we receive certain types of weapons. The President or the Commander-in-Chief will comment on this
When asked whether this is a topic where the "fog of war" is very appropriate, Podolyak said: "It is very appropriate. It is very appropriate, because it should be reflected on the battlefield accordingly.
Зеленський заявив, що перші F-16 не зіграють ключової ролі 18.05.24, 17:31
Context
On July 31, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine had received the first batch of F-16s from the allies. This is the first insight into the appearance of the long-awaited multi-purpose fighters in Ukrainian skies.
Also, photos and videos of allegedly these aircraft in Ukraine are circulating on social media. The authenticity of these images has not yet been established.
Later, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that Ukraine had already received F-16 fighters as part of international aid from its allies.
The Times reported, citing its source, that six F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands had been delivered to Ukraine.
The White House refused to comment on the information that, according to media reports, the first F-16s from partners have already arrived in Ukraine. At the same time, the White House emphasized that by the end of the summer, the F-16s will be ready for flights in Ukraine.