US officials are asking the war-torn nation to clearly outline its combat objectives for requesting expanded use of US-supplied long-range missiles.

Ukraine has stated that it plans to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), to strike Russian airfields, command centers, and weapons depots deep in enemy territory.

President Joe Biden’s administration currently allows Kyiv to use the weapon only for strikes within Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

US officials remain skeptical that lifting the restrictions would have a significant impact on the war, noting that it may also come with greater risks.

Growing Pressure

The US has been facing increasing pressure from NATO allies to allow Kyiv greater freedom to hit targets inside Russia to level the battlefield.

Moscow’s forces have been using long-range aircraft, missiles, and drones to attack Ukraine, quickly gaining the upper hand in the ongoing war.

Washington has expressed concerns that doing so would further escalate the war and allow Russia to reverse-engineer some of America’s most sophisticated weapons.

It has also argued that the Ukrainian military is already using long-range drones to strike deep into Russia, which is a cheaper and more strategic method than firing costly missiles.

Additionally, the White House downplayed the capabilities of its ATACMS, stating they would be ineffective now because Moscow has likely moved its most immediate threats to facilities beyond the missile’s range.

“I don’t believe one capability is going to be decisive, and I stand by that comment,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed.

Russian Warning

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any strikes using Western weapons deep inside its territory will lead to a significant change in the nature of the conflict.

He said such a move would be viewed as an escalation of the war, making the US and its NATO allies directly involved.

“And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us,” Putin told reporters.

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In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained that army units are struggling to fend off devastating Russian attacks due to being under-equipped.

He emphasized that Kyiv needs at least 14 fully-equipped brigades “to be ready,” but recent military aid packages were not enough to sufficiently arm even a third of that.

“We need to equip 14 brigades — we still don’t have it. Out of this package, we have not even equipped four brigades… Therefore, we need to produce drones domestically. It’s not enough, but we have done it,” Zelensky stated.

Ukraine is continuing its surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, but reports suggest Moscow is preparing to mount a counter-offensive.

‘We Used All We Could’

Zelensky noted that an eight-month hiatus in US military aid had significantly depleted Ukraine’s weapons reserves.

He was referring to a $61-billion supplemental aid bill for Kyiv that had been stalled in the US Congress until April 2024.

The president explained that the Ukrainian Armed Forces “had used everything they had” to defend themselves from Russian assaults.

“We transferred everything that was in the stockpiles – in warehouses and in reserve brigades,” he said. “We took everything [we] had – all [our] weapons.”

‘Make Ukraine Strong’

Zelensky argued that the number of brigades protecting Ukraine’s territories is irrelevant if “half of them are not equipped.”

He pointed out that Kyiv’s forces lack armored vehicles and artillery shells, with the Russians firing 12 times more rounds than Ukrainian troops.

He also challenged Western nations to make Ukraine strong to see Russian President Vladimir Putin “sit down and negotiate.”

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In a rare joint trip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the nine-hour train from Poland to Kyiv alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy, whose two-month-old Labour government has vowed to keep up Britain’s role as a key defender of Ukraine.

The visit comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky ramps up his requests to the West to provide weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.

US President Joe Biden, asked in Washington whether he would let Ukraine use longer-range weapons for strikes on Russian targets, said: “We’re working that out right now.”

In Moscow, the Kremlin promised it would respond “appropriately” if Washington eases its restrictions.

Biden, while strongly supportive of Ukraine, has previously made clear he wants to avoid devolving into direct conflict between the United States and Russia, the world’s two leading nuclear powers.

Blinken, speaking Tuesday in London alongside Lammy, said the United States was committed to providing Ukraine “what they need when they need it to be most effective in dealing with the Russian aggression.”

But Blinken, who is paying his fifth trip to Kyiv since the invasion, said it was also important to see if Ukrainian forces could maintain and operate particular weaponry.

Pressed later in an interview with Sky News on whether the United States would green-light long-range weapons, Blinken said: “We never rule out, but when we rule in, we want to make sure it’s done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve.”

Fears From Iran Missiles

Asked how Moscow would respond to such a development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday: “It will be appropriate,” without providing specific details.

He said the authorisation of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory would serve as “further proof” of why Moscow launched its offensive, which he said was itself an “answer” to the West’s support.

Ukraine enjoyed a fresh boost late Tuesday when the International Monetary Fund said it reached a staff-level agreement that could open the door to $1.1 billion for the country, which is weathering Russian attacks on infrastructure as winter sets in.

But on the military front, the United States said it believes that Russia could start firing short-range Iranian-made missiles into Ukraine within weeks.

Cash-strapped Iran went ahead with the sale despite repeated warnings from Western powers, which on Tuesday announced new sanctions on the cleric-run state.

The Iranian shipments have raised fears that Moscow would be freed up to use its long-range missiles against comparatively unscathed areas in western Ukraine.

The United States earlier this year gave its blessing for Ukraine to use Western weapons to hit Russian forces when in direct conflict across the border.

But Ukraine last month launched a surprise, daring offensive directly into Russian territory in Kursk, hoping to restore morale and divert Moscow as Russian troops trudge forward in the frontlines of eastern Ukraine.

British media reports said Biden, who meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, was set to end objections to letting Ukraine fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.

Britain has repeatedly pushed the United States, by far Ukraine’s biggest military supplier, to be more forward on weapons.

One key ask by Ukraine is to loosen restrictions on US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which can hit targets up to 300 kilometers (190 miles) away.

In a joint letter to Biden, leading members of Congress from the rival Republican Party asked him to act on ATACMS immediately.

“As long as it is conducting its brutal, full-scale war of aggression, Russia must not be given a sanctuary from which it can execute its war crimes against Ukraine with impunity,” said the letter signed by Representative Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Republicans, however, are deeply divided over Ukraine, and a victory in November by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over Biden’s political heir Kamala Harris could dramatically shift US policy.

Trump aides have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Kyiv into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.

The post US, UK Top Diplomats in Ukraine to Discuss Long-Range Weapons appeared first on The Defense Post.

Ukraine launched an unprecedented cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August, sending thousands of troops across the border and seizing several villages. Putin said shortly after there could be no talk of negotiations.

Speaking at a question and answer session at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in the city of Vladivostok, Putin said Russia was ready for talks but on the basis of an aborted deal between Moscow’s and Kyiv’s negotiators reached in Istanbul in 2022, the terms of which were never made public.

“Are we ready to negotiate with them? We have never refused to do so, but not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of those documents that were agreed and actually initialled in Istanbul,” Putin said.

The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of a deal in the spring of 2022, shortly after Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine.

“We managed to reach an agreement, that is the whole point. The signature of the head of the Ukrainian delegation who initialled this document testifies to this, which means that the Ukrainian side was generally satisfied with the agreements reached,” Putin said.

“It did not come into force only because they were given a command not to do so, because the elites of the United States, Europe — some European countries — wanted to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia,” Putin added.

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US President Joe Biden condemned the “deplorable attack,” which Kyiv said hit a military training facility and a nearby hospital, though authorities did not say how many of the victims were military or civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to hold what he called “Russian scum” accountable while rescuers worked to clear the rubble.

“According to the information available now, this Russian strike killed 51 people,” Zelensky said in his evening address.

“The number of injured is 271. We know that there are people under the rubble of the destroyed building. Everything is being done to save as many lives as possible,” Zelensky said.

Washington, Berlin, and London all condemned the strike.

Biden vowed Washington would continue military aid to Kyiv, “including providing the air defense systems and capabilities they need to protect their country.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the attack a “sickening act of aggression,” while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the brutality of Russian President Vladimir Putin “knows no limits.”

Putin traveled to Russia’s Vladivostok on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, after concluding a visit to Mongolia.

The trip was his first to an International Criminal Court (ICC) member since it issued a warrant for his arrest related to the war in Ukraine.

‘Full Investigation’

The strike triggered anger on Ukrainian social media after unconfirmed reports said it had targeted an outdoor military ceremony, with many blaming reckless behavior from officials who allowed the event to take place despite the threat of Russian attacks.

Zelensky said he had ordered a “full and prompt investigation into all the circumstances.”

Two Russian ballistic missiles hit the hospital and educational institution, partially destroying one of the buildings, Zelensky said.

The strike took place in the morning in Poltava, a city with a pre-war population of around 300,000 people, some 300 kilometers (190 miles) east of Kyiv.

“The window blew open. Dust was everywhere. I just had time to tell my sister that a rocket was flying,” said Yevgeniya Chyrva, a resident in a building damaged during the attack.

The defense ministry said that the time between the alarm and the arrival of the missiles was “so short that it caught people in the middle of evacuating to the bomb shelter.”

The Poltava military communications institute, founded in the 1960s when Ukraine was part of the USSR, specializes in training telecommunications specialists.

“One of the institute’s buildings was partially destroyed, and many people were trapped under the rubble,” the defense ministry said.

An AFP journalist on the scene saw several ambulances heading towards the affected site shortly after the attack on the military institute.

Rescuers were still at work after managing to save 25 people, including 11 trapped under the rubble, the defense ministry said.

Government Reshuffle

Poltava’s governor, Philip Pronin, said his administration could not provide more details of the circumstances of the strike “for security reasons.”

Ukrainian MP Maria Bezugla, who regularly criticizes the country’s military leadership, accused high-ranking officials of endangering soldiers.

“These tragedies keep repeating themselves. When will it stop?” she posted on Telegram.

The attack came as Ukraine’s leadership signaled a major government reshuffle was underway, with at least six officials submitting their resignations Tuesday.

The Minister for Strategic Industries, Minister for Justice, and Minister of Environmental Protection were among those to step down.

Zelensky has ordered several reshuffles since the war began, sacking his defense minister last September after a series of corruption scandals and more recently replacing his top commander amid setbacks on the battlefield.

The move follows another recent scandal for Ukraine’s army command after a US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed in combat last week, killing the pilot.

The crash of the F-16 was a high-profile setback for Kyiv, which had lobbied the West to send the advanced fighter jet for months, and triggered the dismissal of the country’s air force chief, Mykola Oleshchuk.

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The DC-based think tank said in a recent report that Moscow’s response to the Ukrainian offensive inside its territory was being hampered by overlapping command structures, which are causing “friction” and “confusion” among its forces.

For example, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov appointed his deputy minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov deputy of a coordinating council tasked with organizing the military response to the incursion in Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk.

Belousov also tasked five people to address specific issues related to the incursion, such as logistics, military-technical support, civilian evacuations, and medical support.

Additionally, Russia created three groups of forces to protect civilians from drone strikes and other attacks in those regions.

According to the ISW, this redundant structure will likely create additional confusion within the Russian defense ministry as it battles advancing Ukrainian forces.

“ISW continues to assess that complex and overlapping responsibilities and the seemingly ever-growing list of actors the Kremlin has tasked with responding to the Ukrainian incursion [that impedes] Russia’s ability to establish effective joint command-and-control structures,” the report noted.

‘Russia Plans to Respond’

Speaking during an event in Kyiv on August 21, Ukraine military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said his forces had successfully advanced more than 28 kilometers (17.4 miles) into Russia’s Kursk region.

They also reportedly captured 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) of Russian territory and 93 settlements.

But despite Moscow’s seemingly dysfunctional military command, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GRU) said the invading forces certainly have a plan in place for an all-out response.

“The operation is ongoing. Russia is planning a response. There are plans, we know about them. Our government and military leadership know about them so they can continue [the operation] and disrupt the [Russian] plans,” GRU deputy head Vadym Skibitsky said.

The post Russia Struggling With Dysfunctional Military Command: Think Tank appeared first on The Defense Post.

Ukraine surprised everybody, including its own allies, when it sent troops over the border on August 6, two-and-half years after Russia launched its invasion, and has made claims of new gains almost daily.

The incursion has covered 1,250 square kilometers (482 square miles) so far, according to Ukraine, while Russia says it has contained the Ukrainian attack.

What Does Ukraine Want?

Responding to requests from allies, Ukraine has stated the objectives of its attack, saying that it did not seek to “occupy” Russian territory, but was looking to raise pressure on Russia ahead of any future negotiations.

“It’s a gamble, with the aim of maybe swapping the conquered areas against Ukrainian territory elsewhere,” Pierre Razoux, Academic and Research Director at the FMES strategic think tank, told AFP.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that the incursion was achieving Kyiv’s objectives, which officials have previously said include stretching Russian forces, destroying Russian military equipment, creating a “buffer zone,” and bringing the war “closer” to an end on “fair” terms.

Does Ukraine Have the Means?

Ukraine had to limit the size of the military contingent it sent into Russia, as most of its army’s potential is tied up on the main front.

Razoux said Ukraine had sent “a few mobile brigades” and some motorized units featuring mostly western equipment, which included “a lot of wheeled armored vehicles.”

Michel Goya, a military historian, added that Ukraine probably succeeded in weakening Russian defenses “with drones, electronic warfare and the infiltration of ranger units.”

However, after rapid early advances, the Ukrainian attack slowed as Russia deployed more solid defenses.

“After initial disarray and disorganisation, Russian forces have deployed in greater force in the region,” the British defense ministry observed last Friday.

A Two-Front Situation

With its attack, Ukraine is engaging Russia on a second front for the first time since the war started, creating a situation that neither will be able to bear for very long, said Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general.

“While both might be able to surge their forces for short periods, it is unclear if the Ukrainians or Russians can sustain such an approach for months at a time,” he said. “One side or the other will have to make a difficult choice about their priorities.”

Ukraine’s position in Russia could become, over time, more fragile especially as Moscow’s army continues to make steady gains in Ukraine.

Vasily Kashin, a Russia-based political scientist, noted that Ukraine had hurt Russia’s prestige with its wide-ranging incursion but had so far failed to take over any strategic sites.

Meanwhile, as Russian winter approaches, Ukrainian troops may find that the usefulness of armored vehicles is limited because they move around on wheels, not chains.

Razoux said these vehicles were “very efficient” in the summer thanks to their speed and agility, “but when the rain, snow and mud arrive, they become a nightmare because they get stuck.”

Moscow’s tactic could consist of allowing the mobile units to advance and then encircle them as they become bogged down, he warned. “This would neutralize Ukraine’s strategic reserve.”

Cautious Allies

Ukraine’s western allies have been reacting cautiously to the Ukrainian incursion, worried that their weapons could be used on Russian soil, possibly sparking a strong Russian reaction.

It took US President Joe Biden a week to give his feedback on the incursion, which he said had created “a real dilemma” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Britain, meanwhile, allows Kyiv to use a squadron of 14 British-made 14 Challenger 2 tanks deployed as it sees fit.

However, Britain and Western allies have put limits on the use of long-range missiles, such as the Storm Shadow cruise missile, to avoid escalating the conflict.

Germany, meanwhile, has announced a sharp reduction in its bilateral military aid to Ukraine.

Paris, still awaiting a new government, has not commented.

Kyiv’s main aim may be to demonstrate to allies “that Russian victory is not inevitable, and that Ukraine can fight and win,” said Ryan.

But, he added, this was unlikely to force any change in Putin’s designs on Ukraine.

“As stunning and clever as the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk has been, it may not change Putin’s overall war goals,” he said.

The post Ukraine’s Russia Incursion May Be Hard to Sustain: Analysts appeared first on The Defense Post.

Former president and parliament member Petro Poroshenko handed over the large batch of volunteer aid to the Ukrainian Defense Forces for its units in Russia’s Kursk region.

Among them are 1,205 first-person view (FPV) attack drones, as well as 51 daytime and 17 nighttime DJI Mavic unmanned aerial vehicles.

Twelve ATVs were also delivered for assault troops and the evacuation of wounded soldiers.

Additionally, the donation includes nine Shatro 50-1M EW systems designed to provide increased troop protection against Russian kamikaze drones.

According to its manufacturer, the system forms a dome of radio frequency interference with a radius of up to 250 meters (820 feet). It emits 50 watts of power.

Ukrainian units in Kursk were also given a new excavator, a Foden truck, and makeshift shower facilities.

The Kursk Incursion

Earlier this month, Kyiv’s forces launched a surprise attack on Russia’s western city of Kursk.

They reportedly used drones and jammers to down Moscow’s surveillance capabilities and advance into enemy territory.

A week after the incursion, Ukraine had advanced over an area of at least 800 square kilometers (308 square miles) and seized control of several Russian towns, according to data released by the Institute for the Study of War.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that the attack was meant to create a “buffer zone” to prevent further Russian strikes across the border.

With the push expected to continue over the next few weeks, Poroshenko reiterated the need to support Ukraine’s frontline forces by providing them with the necessary weapons and equipment for their operations.

“We cannot comment on their work, but we can continue our cause to help. Because we support the armed forces wherever they are,” he said. “All this equipment will do its job for the advancement of our troops.”

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Later Sunday, each country blamed the other for a fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, though both sides – and the UN nuclear watchdog – said there was no sign of a nuclear leak.

Kyiv has deployed thousands of troops to the surprise operation, a Ukrainian security official told AFP, seizing the battlefield initiative after months of slow Russian advances across the east.

“The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilize the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border,” the security official said on condition of anonymity.

The assault appeared to catch the Kremlin off guard, with Moscow’s army rushing in reserve troops, tanks, aviation, artillery, and drones in a bid to quash it.

But the army on Sunday appeared to concede that Ukraine had been able to penetrate its territory by up to 30 kilometers (20 miles) in places.

In a daily briefing on the situation in the western Kursk region, the defense ministry said it had “foiled attempts” by Ukraine’s forces to “break through deep into Russian territory” using armored vehicles.

But it said some of those forces were near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) and 30 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The Ukrainian official also said Russian claims that Kyiv had deployed 1,000 troops were a serious underestimate.

“It is a lot more,” he said. “Thousands.”

Helicopters ‘Over Your Head’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later blamed Russia for a fire at a cooling tower at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which Russia claimed had been caused by Ukraine shelling.

Zelensky said in a social media post that “Russian occupiers have started a fire” at the plant, accusing them of trying to “blackmail” Kyiv.

“No impact has been reported for nuclear safety,” said a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has experts at the site. Both Kyiv and Moscow said there had been no rise in radiation levels.

In a later statement, the IAEA said it had requested that its team get “immediate access to the cooling tower to assess the damage”.

A Moscow-installed official, Vladimir Rogov, said the blaze has been “completely extinguished” in a Telegram post Monday.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has waged an unrelenting campaign, occupying swathes of the east and south and subjecting Ukrainian cities to daily missile and drone attacks.

After re-capturing large areas in 2022, Kyiv has largely been on the back foot, struggling with manpower and arms supplies.

The assault on the Kursk region has been the largest and most successful cross-border offensive by Kyiv so far – and the most significant attack by a foreign army on Russian territory since World War II.

Russia said Saturday that more than 76,000 civilians had been evacuated from border areas, with more leaving Sunday.

Russia’s rail operator has put on emergency trains from Kursk to Moscow, around 450 kilometers (279 miles) away, for those looking to flee.

“It’s scary to have helicopters flying over your head all the time,” said Marina, refusing to give her surname, who arrived by train in the Russian capital on Sunday. “When it was possible to leave, I left.”

Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov conceded on Sunday that the situation was “difficult.”

Across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region, from where Ukraine launched the incursion, AFP journalists on Sunday saw dozens of armored vehicles daubed with a white triangle – the insignia apparently being used to identify Ukrainian military hardware deployed in the attack.

‘Taste’ of War’

Ukraine’s Sumy region has also come under retaliatory fire, and authorities there plan to evacuate some 20,000 people from the border zone.

At an evacuation center in the regional capital of Sumy, 70-year-old retired metal worker Mykola, who had fled his village of Khotyn some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Russian border, nevertheless welcomed Ukraine’s push into Russia.

“Let’s let them find out what it’s like,” he told AFP. “They don’t understand what war is. Let them have a taste of it.”

Analysts think Kyiv may have launched the assault to try to relieve pressure on its troops in other parts of the sprawling front line.

But the Ukrainian official said: “Their pressure in the east continues, they are not pulling back troops from the area,” even if “the intensity of Russian attacks has gone down a little bit.”

Russia has announced a local state of emergency in the Kursk region, as well as a “counter-terror operation” there and in two other border regions.

The Ukrainian official said he expected Russia would “in the end” manage to stop the incursion.

Ukraine was bracing for retaliation with a large-scale missile attack, including “on decision-making centers” in Ukraine, the official added.

The post Russian Army Concedes Ukraine Advances in Kursk Offensive appeared first on The Defense Post.

For more than two years, Ukraine has pleaded with its Western partners for the aircraft — long considered the crown jewel in the sprawling list of military hardware Kyiv has sought.

“We often heard the word ‘impossible’. Now it is a reality. Reality in our skies. F-16s in Ukraine. We made it happen,” Zelensky said, as some flew above him during the announcement.

Zelensky was standing in front of what looked like two grey, partially-covered F-16s branded with the Ukrainian trident, in a location reporters were asked not to disclose for security reasons.

“I am proud of all our guys who are mastering these aircraft and have already started using them for our country,” he said.

He did not say how many jets had been delivered and declined to comment on their specific tasks, but AFP journalists saw at least two F-16s on the spot.

The announcement was welcomed by many as Kyiv’s forces are struggling to hold back advances by Russian troops.

‘Not Enough’

“This is the combat aircraft we have been waiting for, which can significantly enhance our capabilities,” said Parliament chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk.

Kyiv hopes the arrival of the fighter jets — touted for their precision, speed, and range — will enable it to better protect itself from Russian bombardment.

They could begin to provide an offensive air capability to Ukraine, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Their decisiveness will however depend on a number of factors including the types of weapons provided with the planes and proficiency levels of pilots, the report suggested.

Zelensky immediately warned more were needed.

“Our partners know that the number of F-16s we have in Ukraine, the number of pilots who have already been trained, is not enough,” he said.

“The good news is that we are expecting additional F-16s,” he added.

Several NATO countries have pledged to supply varying numbers of the fighter jets and have been training Ukrainian pilots and crews for months.

“Our guys are training a lot,” Zelensky said, thanking Denmark, the Netherlands, the US, and other allies.

‘Saving Lives’

Amid a Russian air campaign in recent months, Kyiv has placed Ukraine’s need for improved air defenses at the top of the agenda in meetings with allies.

“I am grateful to our allies for this decision. First and foremost, the effective use of modern aircraft means saving the lives of Ukrainian servicemen,” Armed Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrsky said.

During an interview with AFP in May, Zelensky said Ukraine needed around 130 F-16s to secure parity with Russian air power.

Ukraine’s partners, however, have promised to send less than 100 F-16s to date, with most likely to arrive over the course of several years following substantial pilot training.

Recent strikes on Ukrainian airfields have also raised questions about Kyiv’s ability to protect the multi-million-dollar planes from Russian raids.

In early July, Russia claimed to have destroyed five military jets during a barrage on an air base in central Ukraine.

Following the bombing, Ukrainian military correspondents lambasted the air force’s top brass, saying planes at the airfield had been parked in the open without sufficient protection.

Russia warned last week that any F-16s delivered to Ukraine would be shot down and claimed they would have little impact on the battlefield.

Ukraine’s air force has long relied on a fleet of aging Soviet-era MIG-29 and Sukhoi jets, which have increasingly come under strain following more than two years of demanding combat missions.

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