The Defense Minister Reznikov: Ukraine will not use F-16 fighters in the summer counteroffensive

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

The Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov informed that Ukraine will abandon the use of F-16 fighter jets during a counteroffensive this summer, but will use all ground equipment.

He said this in an interview with NHK in Singapore.

Answering a question about the F-16 fighter jets, which Ukraine has long wanted to receive, Reznikov noted that they "will not change the rules of the game this summer." According to him, it takes time to train Ukrainian pilots, so Ukraine will have to agree with its allies about the work of engineers and technicians who will maintain and repair these planes.

He added that Ukraine will be ready to deploy F-16s in the fall or winter.

Reznikov refused to talk about the so-called formation operations to prepare for a counteroffensive, in particular, about attacks on weapons depots and other material and technical bases of the Russians. He noted that this should be discussed by the generals.