Washington reproaches Zelensky

The battle of Belgorod earlier this week could open a new chapter in the Russia-Ukraine war. Experts say it's the first time that forces allied with Ukraine have launched a cross-border offensive against Russian targets. According to a statement from the defense ministry in Moscow, the Russian army has eliminated Ukrainian nationalists who had infiltrated the Belgorod region, but the situation remains tense. Zoltán Koskovics, geopolitical analyst at the Center for Fundamental Rights, has shared his thoughts with our newspaper on whether the United States is starting to lose control over Kyiv.

JAPAN-G7-SUMMIT Fotó: SUSAN WALSH

Responding to our question on whether it would really take months to deploy the F-16 fighter jets in an actual battle, the analyst at the Centre for Fundamental Rights explained that the retraining of Ukrainian pilots for Western aircraft is a lengthier process. It is also possible, he added, that Ukraine - because of its losses - does not have an abundance of pilots already trained on Russian-type aircraft, so there may be some who will practically start from scratch. At the same time, we cannot be sure that the training will only commence now. As an example, he cited British PM Rishi Sunak's announcement in the winter that the Royal  Air Force would begin the training of Ukrainian pilots, adding that the process, hidden from public view, could well be underway since then. In order for Ukraine to obtain these fighter jets at all, they must fist demonstrate that they can use the armored vehicles they've already received effectively, he pointed out.

According to the expert, the concern that the cost of the F-16s at well over ten million dollars would be too high in total for America's dwindling military budget is unjustified, not least because the F16 fleets are considered obsolete, and it is unclear what their fate should be. He stressed that the first such aircraft took to the skies almost exactly half a century ago, therefore the type is well worth replacing. This, he said, could make the decision to hand over these planes to Ukraine easier for all of their owners, adding, however, that it also calls into question the usefulness of this move.

There are serious questions regarding what the F-16s can achieve against Russia's air defense. These aircraft were hardly used during the US-led bombing campaign against Syria, presumably fearing that they would have been easy prey for the Arab state's Russian air defense mechanism,

– said geopolitical analyst Zoltan Koskovics, concluding his response sent to our paper.

Cover photo: US President Joe Biden with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky (Source: Susan Walsh / POOL / AFP)