Ukraine to Get Its First F-16 Jets in June-July

FILE PHOTO: A general view of an F-16, on the day of a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of an F-16, on the day of a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
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Ukraine to Get Its First F-16 Jets in June-July

FILE PHOTO: A general view of an F-16, on the day of a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of an F-16, on the day of a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

Kyiv expects to receive its first F-16 fighter jets from its Western allies in June-July, a high-ranking Ukrainian military source said on Friday.

Ukraine has sought US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russia's air superiority for more than two years of war. The source did not say which country would supply the jets.

So far, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have committed to sending F-16s to Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Illya Yevlash, spokesperson for the air force, said this week that some Ukrainian pilots were completing their training to fly the warplanes.

The Ukrainian military has had to rely on a relatively small fleet of Soviet-era jets as it has fought to hold back Russia's full-scale February 2022 invasion.

With Russian forces slowly advancing in the eastern Donbas region and mounting a fresh assault in the northeast near the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials see the addition of the F-16 as a vital upgrade for its Air Force.



Kremlin Says Putin Open to Normalizing Ties with Finland if Helsinki Wants to Rebuild Ties

Finnish President Alexander Stubb meets with British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool
Finnish President Alexander Stubb meets with British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool
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Kremlin Says Putin Open to Normalizing Ties with Finland if Helsinki Wants to Rebuild Ties

Finnish President Alexander Stubb meets with British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool
Finnish President Alexander Stubb meets with British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin was open to normalizing relations with Finland, which his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said were in a "sad state," if Helsinki wanted to rebuild ties.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb told his British counterpart Keir Starmer on Monday that Helsinki needs to "mentally prepare" for the restoration of ties with Russia, Reuters reported.

Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia, joined the NATO military alliance in 2023, which Moscow cast at the time as a dangerous historic mistake.