SIMFEROPOL, Aug 28 American F-16 fighters in Ukraine will be destroyed, their bases will become a legitimate target for preemptive strikes, said State Duma deputy from the Crimean region Mikhail Sheremet.
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, in an interview with Bild, said that F-16 fighter jets could be used in combat for the first time in the spring of 2024, which will be a «major turning point.» According to him, Ukrainian pilots are already being trained.
“These fighters will be destroyed, and their bases will become a legitimate target for devastating preemptive strikes,” Sheremet said.
According to him, F-16 fighters will not give Kyiv superiority in the sky. «The whole world will see, and especially American taxpayers, how well and brightly American fighters burn and explode,» the deputy stressed.
Earlier, a senior US administration official said that Washington had decided to approve the transfer of fourth-generation American F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv from Denmark and the Netherlands. The White House confirmed that Ukraine will receive combat aircraft from third countries after the completion of the training of its pilots. The Pentagon also noted that Ukraine does not yet have the necessary infrastructure to host the F-16.