This summer, after a long wait, Ukraine will finally receive new F-16 fighter jets, but their number will be less than originally planned, Bloomberg reports citing sources from the world's military circles.
According to one of the sources, Ukraine will be able to form only one squadron of 15-24 aircraft out of the 300 planned. Another source of the news agency said about 20 fighter jets, which Kyiv will be able to get by the end of the year.
According to Bloomberg, the task of supplying the fighters is complicated by long delays in the delivery of spare parts, a language barrier between Ukrainian pilots and their foreign instructors, the recruitment of personnel for the maintenance of the fighters, as well as an insufficient number of airstrips and their vulnerability to Russian attacks.
The problems are so serious that they have made many doubt the feasibility of sending planes to Ukraine and ask themselves whether it is too expensive a show of support.
"People should not expect miracles" from F-16 fighter jets against Russia, Jim Townsend, a senior researcher at the Center for a New American Security, urges against this background.
