Ukraine To Keep Many F-16 Jets Abroad On Fears Russia Will Immediately Destroy

Ukraine’s armed forces are expected to begin receiving the first of dozens of F-16 fighter jets within weeks. In total over 60 are expected to arrive from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands – at a moment Ukrainian pilots are still undergoing lengthy and highly technical training programs in the Europe and the United States.

But decision-makers in Brussels and Kiev already fear that they will make for highly attractive targets for Russian long-range and aerial strikes before they ever see aerial combat in Ukraine’s skies.

“Ukraine may keep some of the F-16 fighter jets it’s set to receive from its Western allies at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes,” a senior Ukrainian military officer was cited in the Associated Press as saying Monday. Likely the jets will be “hidden” hosted at bases in Romania and Poland, which are both NATO countries.