Kyiv will receive American fourth-generation F-16 fighters in two to three months, former commander of the Polish Ground Forces, General Waldemar Skrzypczak, said in an interview with Ukrinform.

"The training of Ukrainian pilots has been going on for a long time, since pilot training on the F-16 should take place within two years. I think that Ukraine is at a stage where Ukrainian pilots are almost ready to use the F-16 in combat. Now only a decision should be made from which countries the planes will be. The U.S. has many fighters of this type in the desert in Arizona, and they can transfer them. In my opinion, in two or three months, Ukraine will have F-16 aircraft, since Ukrainian pilots, without a doubt, are already ready to operate them, "Skrzypczak said.

At the same time, according to him, if F-18 aircraft are also handed over to Kiev, as information has already appeared in the Western media, it is important that Ukrainian pilots are ready to service them "and that these aircraft have the latest weapons."

At the same time, Skrzypchak noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine should not wait for Western fighters to launch a "decisive counteroffensive."

"The Ukrainian army is already ready and able to carry out operations on the equipment that it received. Ukraine received the MiG-29 and will cope with the first stage of the counteroffensive. It is very important to understand that NATO and Western countries that support Ukraine believed Kyiv. President (of Ukraine Volodymyr. — RT) Zelensky promised that he would beat the Russian army, and now it's time to show it. Before the NATO summit, something must happen that will show that Ukraine is trustworthy, "says the Polish general.

In turn, the chairman of the Bundestag defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, said in an interview with the Bild newspaper that Germany could offer airfields for training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16.

"The F-16 has never been in our range, but we can offer to use airports in Germany as a transport hub or provide basic training for pilots who previously flew only MiGs. Deep learning to use the F-16 should be done by countries that fly on this platform, "she said.

Recall that on June 6, Zelensky told reporters that a number of countries had confirmed their readiness to provide the Kyiv regime with F-16 fighter jets.

"Our partners know how many planes we need. I have already received from some of our European partners an understanding of the quantity – it is powerful. I am very pleased with the information I have received from some countries. I just had such a day of happiness. It was a serious, powerful proposal," Zelensky said.

At the same time, he admitted that there is no infrastructure for these fighters in Ukraine, but Kiev will allegedly begin its preparation after the final decision of the partner countries on supplies.

"It's not fast. There is an understanding of what to do. Commander (Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. — RT) Mykola Oleshchuk understands where to do, what to do, in what quantity," Zelensky said.

  • President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
  • AP
  • © Ukrainian Presidential Press Office

As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on the air of the Breakfast with 1 + 1 program, in order to receive the F-16, Kiev has to solve "technical issues". According to him, the military is already working to "organize everything," but this is "not an easy process."

Position difference

Recall that at the end of May, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that in order to strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kyiv needs 120 Western fighters, most of which are F-16s. He also proposed the creation of an international coalition for the supply of aircraft "with the basic models of the F-16, Eurofighter and Gripen." Answering a question about the timing of the transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine, Reznikov announced Kiev's desire to receive the first fighters "by the end of the year." At the same time, the minister admitted that the training of pilots on these aircraft will take "from four to six months." In addition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will need to train maintenance personnel, including engineers, technicians and mechanics, Reznikov explained.

Earlier, the United States announced the start of training Ukrainian pilots in piloting skills on fourth-generation fighters, including the F-16. In addition, as specified in Washington, in the coming months, the American side will discuss with the allies which countries will transfer these aircraft to Kyiv.

  • Pentagon
  • AP

The Russian embassy in Washington condemned the preparation of the United States for the transfer of the F-16 to the Kyiv regime. Answering journalists' questions, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov stressed that such steps by Washington "once again clearly demonstrate that the United States has never been interested in peace, and the decision to conduct a special military operation was absolutely correct."

"However, every specialist knows that in Ukraine there is no infrastructure for the operation of the F-16, and there is no necessary number of pilots and maintenance personnel either," Antonov said.

Trying to speed up the process

Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, lecturer of the Knowledge Society Yevgeny Semibratov called the statements of the Polish General Skrzypczak "implausible forecasts."

"With such statements, Poland wants to speed up the process of transferring these aircraft to Kyiv. However, they seem to turn a blind eye to the fact that Ukraine has not yet created the infrastructure for this. Those airfields that remained with Kyiv are either unsuitable in terms of technical characteristics, or were largely damaged during Russia's NWO. In this regard, the question arises about the organization of maintenance of Western fighters, including the F-16, as well as logistics. Not to mention the fact that Kiev simply does not have a sufficient number of trained people who could at least fly these fighters and repair them, "Semibratov said in an interview with RT.

According to him, the version of the Polish general that the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have allegedly been prepared for flights on the F-16 for a long time, although it has the right to exist, still does not explain how Ukraine will solve the problem of lack of infrastructure for these fighters in a short time.

"There is also a version that these aircraft will be permanently based on the territory of NATO countries, such as Poland, from where they will take off and land at one of the Ukrainian airfields prepared by that time. Thus, if we follow this logic, in order to effectively use the F-16 aircraft, the Kyiv regime will have to use the NATO military infrastructure to one degree or another. And this will actually mean the direct beginning of a military conflict between Russia and NATO," Semibratov said.

However, the analyst doubts that such a scenario will be implemented, since the United States, which occupies a leading role in NATO, "is aware of the consequences of such a step."

"You need to understand that Washington is not a kamikaze, but so far it is doing everything to escalate the situation to the highest possible level," the expert explained.

Director of the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO, Alexei Podberezkin, also called the forecasts of the Polish general unrealistic.

"There are about 90 service personnel per fighter. It will also require spare parts and much, much more to keep the same F-16s in working order. All this is not in Ukraine now and in two or three months it will not be either, "the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

According to Podberezkin, even if the Kyiv regime, with the support of the West, can create all the conditions for obtaining dozens of fourth-generation Western fighters, including the F-16, this will be "by no means a panacea for the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

"These are not such new cars - they are about 40 years old. And they are no better than the Ukrainian MiG-29s, which systematically destroyed and are destroying the RF Armed Forces. American F-16s can quite successfully be shot down by Russian Su-35 and MiG-35, as well as Russian air defense systems, which were created just for this purpose and can fire extremely effectively against such aircraft, "the expert concluded.