Impact of F-16 deliveries to Ukraine on the situation at the front assessed

American F-16 fighters transferred to Ukraine will not change the situation on the front in Kyiv’s favor, believes military expert, associate professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Oleg Glazunov. In a conversation with Lenta.ru, he spoke about the impact of the deliveries of these aircraft on the situation on the battlefield.

“Our front stretches from the Kharkov region to the Black Sea, 15 aircraft are not enough here. Simply put, Ukraine will not have air superiority, it will remain with us in any case. Secondly, we have the means to destroy these aircraft. Our air defense works quite well, we have missiles that can strike airfields where F-16 aircraft are based, so there are not so many of them that our intelligence cannot figure out where they are and where to strike. Some will be shot down, some will be at airfields, and some will be constantly in repair due to the fact that the pilots are not quite ready to fly such aircraft,” he believes.

On August 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially confirmed that Kyiv had received American F-16 aircraft. He also posted footage of the fighter jets taking off on his Telegram channel.

As Politico reported, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium planned to send Kyiv more than 60 F-16s this summer. According to The Economist, Kyiv has received 10 fighters and will receive the same number by the end of the year.