Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (C) and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (R) in front of an F-16 fighter jet in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 20, 2023
In the first public commitments after months of negotiations, Ukraine is receiving up to 61 US-made F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands.
But will they make a difference, enabling Ukraine not only to defeat Russia’s invasion but also to liberate occupied territories?
Journalist Michał Piękoś and I joined Poland’s TVP World on Monday to discuss the possibilities.
We agree that the jets, on their own, are not a “game changer”. However — in addition to the symbolic importance of the deliveries — they could be significant if and when they are integrated with other military support for Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
This counter-offensive, this resistance against Russia is not a sprint. It’s a 1500-meter race, possibly even longer, but what we will see over time is Ukraine having a modern air force even as Russia’s is being degraded.
We also take a long look at this week’s BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit and why it is not salvation for Moscow.
Russia will try to cover up South Africa telling Vladimir Putin not to come. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will make Lavrov-type statements about how this is all NATO’s and the West’s fault.
But in fact this summit highlights the weakness, rather than the strength, of Moscow within this grouping at this point.
Watch Discussion from 15:46:
See also Ukraine War, Day 544: Up to 61 F-16s For Kyiv From Denmark and Netherlands
If China is trying to distance itself from Russia, why did the CCP invite Putin to meet with them in Beijing in October? And I don’t see Ramaphosa backtracking on anything with Russia. Obviously, he would have feared the possible path the South African court could’ve taken if Putin had attended the summit, but that doesn’t mean relations between both governments are strained. I don’t see any evidence of that at all. And 17 African heads of state went to Russia, with 45 delegations in total – if I recall correctly. That is nothing to sneeze at given that Russia is the most sanctioned country on the planet, and possibly all history. But apparently, these panelists have the sniffles.
As for the F-16 airplane: Is this 1985, when Doug Masters took on a few 1960s-era Migs and an S-200 air defence system? The panelists have watched too many movies. What military analyst sees this as a game-changing weapon? This is an old plane, and some military analysts state that Ukraine doesn’t have the right airfields and technical crews to operate it. Even if Ukraine manages to use them, Russia has more advanced fighter aircraft and state-of-the-art air defence systems. The F-16 is too vulnerable, and the war might end before Ukraine is ready to fly them.