Eerste F-16s, gedoneerd door Nederland, treden in dienst bij de Oekraïense luchtmacht.

Zelensky op X:

"We are now in a new phase of development for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We have done a lot to transition the Ukrainian Air Force to a new aviation standard – Western combat aviation. From the beginning of this war, we have been talking with our partners about the need to close the Ukrainian sky from Russian missiles and aircraft".

"We have held hundreds of meetings and negotiations to strengthen the capabilities of our aviation, air defense, and Defense Forces. We often heard the word "impossible" in response, but we made possible what was our ambition, our defense need, and now – it is a reality in our sky. F-16s in Ukraine. We ensured this".

"I am proud of all our guys who are skillfully mastering these aircraft and have already started using them for our country. I thank our team for this result. I thank all the partners who are truly helping with the F-16s, and the first countries that accepted our request for aircraft – Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States, – and all our partners, – we value your support".

"I wish our Air Force and all our warriors to feel the pride of Ukrainians in our combat aviation and to bring Ukraine the combat results that will bring our victory closer – our just peace for Ukraine".