By AFP | 2024-07-12

WASHINGTON -- F-16 warplanes being sent to Ukraine are a victory for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and will help protect against Russian strikes.

The United States, the Netherlands and Denmark July 10 announced that the transfer of the planes had begun, saying Ukraine "will be flying operational F-16s this summer."

Zelenskyy had repeatedly pushed for the US-made warplanes to help counter Russia's invasion, with the United States eventually acceding last year.

"As a symbolic effort, it's tremendously important... This was really the last item that Zelenskyy had highlighted as important for Ukrainian defense," said Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.

He noted that there has been a series of weapon systems -- High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) rocket launchers, Patriot air defense batteries, Abrams tanks, Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles -- that Washington eventually agreed to donate to Kyiv.

"In each case, providing that weapon had an important symbolic and psychological impact, putting aside, you know, what the battlefield impact might be," Cancian said.

"I think it will help for air defenses... but it's not going to be a silver bullet," he said of the F-16s, noting that there "just aren't going to be enough of them."

Zelenskyy said in an interview with AFP in May that Kyiv needed up to 130 F-16s to secure air parity with Russia.

Western countries have pledged fewer than 100 so far, and not all of them will arrive at once.

Zelenskyy hailed the announcement that F-16s were being transferred, saying the planes will "bring just and lasting peace closer, demonstrating that terror must fail everywhere and at any time."

Air defense symphony

Air defense will likely be Ukraine's main use for the planes, along with supporting front-line troops and a few "high-visibility deep strikes" inside Russia, said Cancian.

Michael Bohnert, an air and maritime acquisition analyst with the RAND Corporation, said the transfer of the F-16s "shows a long-term commitment" to Ukraine.

"The logistics and support for these aircraft, including training etc., is a long-term process, and it is a tangible, measurable way of showing a long-term commitment," he said.

Bohnert said the F-16s will be able to help "chase down cruise missiles like those used in the attacks on Kyiv," and also to defend areas where there are no ground-based systems.

The planes could also divert Russian resources toward countering them in the air and seeking to destroy them on the ground, he said.

Bohnert said "it's not just one system, it's a symphony. And right now, Ukraine, their air symphony's a little thin, and they don't have every instrument."

"This is like adding brass instruments when you already have... percussion, strings, etc. It's just adding another piece," he added.