F-16 deliveries to Ukraine not silver bullet: NATO chief

In an interview with the German daily Bild on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the forthcoming deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would not shift the course of the war in Ukraine.

He mentioned that the allies were preparing to dispatch F-16s and ammunition to Ukraine, with ongoing training for Ukrainian pilots already underway.

Stoltenberg expressed appreciation for the forthcoming delivery of warplanes as another demonstration of allied support for Kiev, noting that it would enhance Ukrainian defenses.

But he acknowledged that there was no “silver bullet” weapon that could definitively secure victory for Ukraine.

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Senior Ukrainian officials informed Politico this week that F-16s would have been more beneficial to Ukraine if they were sent a year ago.

Initially anticipated to arrive by the end of 2023, the deployment of the warplanes has intentionally been delayed until late spring.

The White House stated that the transfer of US-made planes from third parties would commence once pilot training was completed.

On Wednesday, a senior Ukrainian military official told Politico that the US F-16 jets expected to arrive in Ukraine “are no longer relevant”.

“Often, we just don’t get the weapons systems at the time we need them – they come when they’re no longer relevant,” the high-ranking officer told Politico.

“Every weapon has its own right time. F-16s were needed in 2023; they won’t be right for 2024.”

On March 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “F-16’s are carriers of Nuclear weapons and this needs to be taken into account when organizing [combat operations],” as quoted by TASS.

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