Zelenskyy announces arrival of additional F-16 fighters to Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference on the occasion of the Air Force Day, photo: Efrem Lukatsky/Copyright 2024 The AP

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that several more fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine.

«Additional F-16s have arrived in Ukraine. This is good news», he said during a video conference with journalists.

However, the president did not disclose the exact number of fighter jets or the country from which they were transferred.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy also commented on Russia's statement about the alleged downing of an F-16 in Sumy region.

«The Russians lied about shooting down an F-16. This is a lie! No one shot down the F-16! But several F-16 aircraft arrived in Ukraine,» he said.

It should be noted that Russian media outlets reported that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet was allegedly shot down over Sumy region by a S-400 air defence missile system, which was allegedly paired with a Su-35 fighter jet. However, the Air Force also denied this information.

Earlier, Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever said that the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine had been postponed until 2026.

At the same time, Belgium is supposed to transfer 30 of its F-16 fighters to Ukraine by 2028.

It was also reported that Ukraine will be able to use the F-16s and other weapons that Belgium will transfer as part of the security agreement only on its territory.