Ukraine Awaits Delivery Of First F-16 Jets In Coming Days As Kyiv Seeks To Counter Russian Air Superiority

KYIV — Ukraine will likely receive it first shipment of advanced F-16s in the next few days, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call as Kyiv seeks to disrupt Russia’s air superiority over Ukrainian skies amid continued battles on December 23 in the east and south of the country.

“Today, I informed President Zelenskiy of our government’s decision to prepare an initial 18 F-16 fighter aircraft for delivery to Ukraine,” Rutte said late on December 22 in a post on social media platform X.

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“The delivery of F-16s is one of the most important elements of the agreements made on military support for Ukraine.”

Zelenskiy said that “I spoke with Mark Rutte to thank the Dutch government for its decision to start preparing the initial 18 F-16 jets for their delivery to Ukraine.”

Earlier this month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said his country expected to take delivery of the fighter jets “soon,” as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration warned Congress that failure to support Ukraine could mean the United States will have to pay a high price in “national treasure and in American blood” in the future.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged its allies to provide the aircraft to counter Russia’s air supremacy in the parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

Washington has said it will co-lead a coalition along with Denmark and the Netherlands, and will help organize donation of the aircraft, plans to maintain them, and pilot training.

The influential Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in its latest war update, echoed the White House’s remarks on the need to avoid any political disruptions regarding aid to Ukraine.

“Allowing Russia to win its war in Ukraine would be a self-imposed strategic defeat for the United States,” it wrote.

“The United States would face the risk of a larger and costlier war in Europe. The United States would face the worst threat from Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, as a victorious Russia would likely emerge reconstituted and more determined to undermine the United States — and confident that it can.”

“Most dangerous of all, however, U.S. adversaries would learn that they can break America’s will to act in support of their strategic interests,” it added.

The remarks came as NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told German news agency dpa he believes the Kremlin “has lost Ukraine forever” as a result of its struggling invasion.

“The whole purpose of this invasion was to prevent Ukraine from moving toward NATO and the European Union. Ukraine is now closer to NATO and the European Union than ever before,” he told dpa.

“This is a big strategic defeat for Russia.”

“Russia has lost hundreds of planes, thousands of battle tanks, and 300,000 casualties. Their economy is weaker. They are politically more isolated. Inflation is up, living standards are down.”

The ISW said that, despite its setbacks, Russia likely will continue to push Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine.

“Russia continues to pursue Putin’s maximalist goals in Ukraine and that the current failure of Russian operations in Ukraine thus far is not a permanent condition,” it wrote

Meanwhile, The New York Times — citing Russian, U.S., and international sources — on December 23 reported that Putin had given signals over the past three months that “he is open to a cease-fire that freezes the fighting along the current lines.”

The report cited former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and U.S. and international officials who say they have received such a message from Putin’s envoys.

Zelenskiy has consistently said he is unwilling to discuss a peace deal that would require Ukraine to give up any of its territory, including lands captured by Russia since its February 2022 invasion.

On the battlefield, Kyiv on December 23 said 75 clashes took place between Ukrainian forces and the invading Russian Army over the past 24 hours, adding that its troops repelled attacks on six front lines in the country’s east and northeast.

Ukrainian defenders repelled 16 assaults in the Synkivka area of Kharkiv Province, where Russian forces attempted to break through the defenses, Ukraine’s General Staff said.

The Ukrainian military also said its forces had fought off Russian attacks on Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region as the Kremlin’s forces continued efforts to encircle the eastern city in the Donetsk region on December 23.

“Our warriors are maintaining their defense and causing significant casualties to the occupiers,” the military said.

With reporting by dpa, Reuters, and The New York Times