Kiev: Ukraine may keep some of the F-16 fighter jets it receives from its Western allies at foreign airbases to protect them from Russian attacks. A senior Ukrainian military official gave this information on Monday. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have promised to provide Ukraine with more than 60 US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian attacks. The supply of these aircraft is expected to begin later this year, so Ukrainian pilots are receiving training to fly them.
Ukraine carried out a deadly attack
Serhiy Holubsov, aviation chief in the Ukrainian Air Force, said that a certain number of aircraft would be stationed at airbases outside Ukraine to protect them from being targeted here. This statement from Serhiy Holubsov has come at a time when Ukraine has carried out a deadly attack on Russia. Ukraine has attacked a Russian state-of-the-art fighter aircraft parked near the airbase, about 600 kilometers from the forward posts.
Putin warns
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow could consider attacking NATO member countries if they keep fighter jets used in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Western allies are trying to step up military aid to Kiev as Russian troops have launched attacks along more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of the border, taking advantage of long-standing delays in US military aid. Ukraine is currently struggling to fend off a Russian offensive near its second-largest city, Kharkiv.