White House avoids answering questions about transfer of first F-16s to Ukraine
Photo: John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications (Getty Images)
The United States has not yet confirmed the delivery of the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to the briefing by John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications.
Kirby was asked if the rumors about the first batch of F-16 fighter jets being delivered to Ukraine were true.
Kirby responded that this question should be directed to the Ukrainians, and he would not discuss the capabilities of the armaments
He reminded that, as noted at the NATO summit, the process of transferring F-16s to Ukraine is progressing. He sees no reason to doubt that they will be put into service by the end of the summer.
Background
On July 31, Bloomberg reported that allies had transferred the first batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This batch included a small number of aircraft.
The agency's sources emphasized that there are doubts about whether the Ukrainian pilots, who have been training in recent months, will be able to fly the transferred fighter jets immediately.
