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Ukraine's military needed advanced F-16 fighter jets a year ago, Poland's former defense and foreign minister has told Newsweek, as Kyiv forges ahead with its push to roll back Russian troops in eastern and southern Ukraine.
The "right moment" to furnish Ukraine with Western-made fourth-generation jets "was a year ago," according to Radosław Sikorski, who served as Warsaw's defense minister between 2005 and 2007 and as foreign minister from 2007 to 2014.
Kyiv has long called on its Western allies to deliver fighter jets such as the U.S.-made F-16, which would be a significant improvement in capabilities for its Soviet-era air force.
"Ukraine needs to recover control over its own airspace, and fighter jets would be very useful in that endeavor," Sikorski told Newsweek.
Although countries such as the U.S. have committed billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, including main battle tanks, Washington has, so far, not agreed to send the jets to Ukraine. Poland has been one of Ukraine's most steadfast backers and sent MiG-29 jets—which Ukraine currently operates. Slovakia has also donated.
But attitudes towards providing more advanced jets have changed in recent months, and nearly a dozen NATO nations agreed to form a "fighter jet coalition" and train Ukrainian pilots in F-16s.
The decision to supply the planes, which is increasingly seen as inevitable, marks a long-term commitment to equipping Ukraine's air force, officials and experts have said, and is both expensive and involves setting up all the infrastructure needed to fly the advanced jets.
Questions remain over exactly when Ukraine would receive F-16s, although there is a consensus they would not be there in time to help Kyiv in its ongoing summer counteroffensive.
Earlier this month, National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, suggested F-16s could reach Ukraine "probably towards the end of the year."
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, previously indicated he believed Ukraine would have F-16s by the end of March 2024.
Training in F-16s for Ukrainian pilots is expected to begin in the coming weeks, based first in Denmark, before moving to a training center in Romania.
"Hopefully, we will be able to see results in the beginning of next year," Troels Lund Poulsen, acting Danish defense minister, said earlier in July, in comments reported by Reuters.
U.S. National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, had said in May that while training takes place, the U.S. "will work with our allies to determine when planes will be delivered, who will be delivering them, and how many."
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more